Chacom Stem Polish - Before and After

[hfearly]

A motivational picture as to what's possible with "household" restoration tools and a little bit of elbow grease.
Bleach Bath (1 hr)

Micro Mesh (wet) 1200 - 4000

Mac Guire's Scratch X2

Micro Mesh (wet) 6000-12000

Obsidian Stem Oil (1hr)

White Diamond

Carnauba

 

[numbersix]

Nice work! I've also had good success with the same methods.

 

[durham270]

Nice work!

 

[pitchfork]

Nice!
Can anyone explain the purpose or necessity of the bleach? With really bad stems, I just use the roughest micromesh I have while running the stem under cold water (which whisks away the oxidation once it's been loosened). Does the bleach and/or oxyclean just make it easier to get the oxidation off?

 

[pruss]

Does the bleach and/or oxyclean just make it easier to get the oxidation off?

Heya Pitch. I haven't used bleach, I opt for oxy-clean which IIRC does a couple things; it removes some of the surface oxidation outright, it lifts deep oxidation to the surface of the stem, and it aids in cleaning the interior of the stem. In fact, once I run a stem brush and/or bristle cleaners right after a soak in oxy-clean I have a wide open, clean and crud free draw.
I still take the stems up through micro-mesh, but the soak really helps reduce the labour required to pull the oxidation from the stem.
-- Pat

 

[pitchfork]

OK, thanks, Pat. Maybe I'll have to try the Oxyclean again.