Have I ruined my pipes? :(

[Old_Woodsman]

Hi everyone,

I bought a couple of estate Falcon pipes, in an attempt to clean them up I took the stem off and (as I have with other Briar pipes) soaked it in Oxy Clean overnight). Probably a big mistake, as having looked again this morning they look decidedly dull. Question is, have I somehow burned off a coating or do they just need a good buff? It looks like there is still a few parts with a coating (looks almost like 'chrome like' and this makes the rest of the bowl and shank look even duller.

Any help welcomed here in a wet and windy rural South West England UK.

Tony

 

[TheIronMonkey]

The OxiClean has pitted the surface—you just need to polish it up.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Never use Oxy Clean or bleach on vulcanite.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Never use Oxy Clean or bleach on vulcanite.

Aren't Falcon stems nylon? Or is that period specific?

 

[anotherbob]

how old they are might say more. I think they're currently made out of aluminum and frankly not sure how oxy treats those. Older ones might be made of a different material.

 

[paulfg]

how old they are might say more. I think they're currently made out of aluminum and frankly not sure how oxy treats those. Older ones might be made of a different material.

no always made of aluminium and oxy clean will dull/pit it.

 

[Old_Woodsman]

Thanks....hopefully a bit of polish compound and a gentle dremel might do the trick?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Thanks....hopefully a bit of polish compound and a gentle dremel might do the trick?

I've used a rotary hand tool like a Dremel (it's slower) with a felt buffer and Flitz on a couple of metal pipes and gotten a mirror-like finish. Just be careful, as you can leave swirl marks.

 

[UB 40]

As I understood you put the black nylon, mouthpiece in the oxy cleaner and not the aluminium shank? In both cases you could buff the coat of. I just recently got a falcon mouthpiece that looked greyish dull, after i wiped it off with some detergent. It took some time on the buffing wheel, before shining again. The aluminium would be no problem at all.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Aren't Falcon stems nylon? Or is that period specific?

I was thinking the same thing, but oxyclean shouldn't affect nylon. Those stems aren't removable either.

 

[UB 40]

I was thinking the same thing, but oxyclean shouldn't affect nylon. Those stems aren't removable either.

They are of course, they fit tight on the Alu tube but no glue involved. Just precisely machined parts.

 

[Chasing Embers]

They are of course, they fit tight on the Alu tube but no glue involved.

Be careful doing it. Every source I've read claim they aren't meant to be removed.

 

[UB 40]

Be careful doing it. Every source I've read claim they aren't meant to be removed.

View attachment 182753

I also would not recommend that as a daily maintenance routine. And Falcon does it neither. And they know why.

The small, delicate aluminium Tube might suffer some material fatigue and break unexpectedly.

Opening up was just to get to the source of the construction, which was designed by an engineer in the 1930s.

Also there is some condensation buildup between the walls of nylon stem and aluminium tube because of it’s different dilatabilty. Once dried out it might turn out as a putty like material and make the stress on the alu tube even harder.

But hey, how often do you remove your cylinder from the pistons in your V8 Engine and put it back?

The falcon could be perfectly cleaned in the assembled state.

 

[paulfg]

Be careful doing it. Every source I've read claim they aren't meant to be removed.

View attachment 182753

and the tube is very easily damaged when you try to refit the mouthpiece,the walls are incredibly thin

 

[UB 40]

Some words on Nylon as a prototype of polymers:

2. Physical degradation The physical decay of plastics can begin by absorbing water (swelling), breaking the material or dissolving plasticizers in the plastic. Alternating shrinkage and swelling due to weathering gradually lead to cracks in the plastics, which can lead to the decay of the plastic over time.

 

[edger]

Aren't Falcon stems nylon? Or is that period specific?

Yes! They are nylon and will never be shiny. I’ve had one that started to come out by it’s self, but after heating the aluminum and expanding it the mouthpiece could be shoved back in.

 

[Old_Woodsman]

Apologies for the delay - it was the Shank that I had immersed in the Oxy Clean! Anyway, alls well as you can see from the pictures - before and after a clean-up with some fine wire wool and autoglym!