Restoring a Discolored Yellow Stem

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Mr_houston

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 30, 2020
538
4,562
Texas
Guys, I’m looking for your thoughts and advice.

I just received an estate pipe with a yellow stem, as below. The stem has darkened over the years except where there was likely a sticker. There are also areas where the darkening is not uniform.

I could sand/polish it, but there are markings on the stem that might be lost. I also don’t know how deep I’d have to sand.

It’s a nice pipe with some fills. Probably worth the $57 I paid for it. So, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

I am also familiar with shaving brushes that darken this way, and those are prized for the deep color.

What would you do?

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ChuckMijo

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 26, 2020
775
2,348
I had a similar situation. I couldn’t get rid of the sticker mark without a major sanding, not worth the hassle.
 
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Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,256
108,360
I wasn’t sure if you were kidding or not. Something like that at least deserves a try.
Not kidding at all. First discovered that one when a friend was restoring a vintage computer housing to install all new internals. The case was supposed to be a gray white but the plastic had yellowed. That gel returned it to new and I've since used it on other plastics including pipe stems.
 

Mr_houston

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 30, 2020
538
4,562
Texas
Thanks for the thoughts. I’ve decided to keep the butterscotch color. Instead of sanding deep, I polished lightly with Flitz. What darkness that was not uniform came off easily with very little pressure. So, I still have the light colored rectangle on the bottom, but the rest looks even.

here are some pics, and one in bright sun.

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