Instant Oxidation?

[Sacred_summit]

Yesterday, I picked up a standard system Peterson 314. It has a vulcanite stem (which I prefer). I could tell by the way it looked that the moment it saw light or saliva, it would oxidize. So, before I smoked it, I lathered it with my butcher block conditioner and let it sit overnight. Halfway through the night, I awoke and decided to buff off the conditioner and reapplied it. This has worked for all of my other vulcanite stems. They have been brilliant from the get-go, and after each smoke, I apply a fresh coat.



Today, I removed the conditioner to start breaking in my 314, and it immediately oxidized like I have never seen before! I'm perplexed, as this has never happened to me before.



I'll need to sand it down and apply more conditioner.



My question is, given what happened, how many coats or days will it take before I can smoke this again? Twenty-four hours and two coats were obviously not enough.


Thanks, guys.

 

[jaingorenard]

Is butcher block conditioner mineral oil? If you haven't removed the material that's oxidized (ideally with sandpaper), it will keep reappearing regardless of what's applied over the top of it.

Some stems do oxidise incredibly quickly (I've found this most often on cheaper and older Petersons and some Savinellis including pricey ones), but not overnight.

 

[Auxsender]

My first Peterson came from a shop.
It had been sitting in the case for a very long time.
I decided, like a dummy, to rinse it with hot water. It was instantly and completely covered in oxidation the second the water hit it. I wish I had it on video.
Anyway, fun times. Best of luck with the oxidation.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

I have been there not once but twice, and that was with a brand new Petersons,which were so called NOS pipes, obe I managed to return back to the seller in England another one I sold, You ain't got no option but to sand the oxidation off

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

My first Peterson came from a shop.
It had been sitting in the case for a very long time.
I decided, like a dummy, to rinse it with hot water. It was instantly and completely covered in oxidation the second the water hit it. I wish I had it on video.
Anyway, fun times. Best of luck with the oxidation.

if my memory serves , this had happened to me also with Petersons

 

[Piping Abe]

You are just masking the oxidation. Coats of that will hide it until you put it in your mouth. The only way to remove oxidation is through a physical means of sanding or possibly, flame.

 

[jpmcwjr]

My first Peterson came from a shop.
It had been sitting in the case for a very long time.
I decided, like a dummy, to rinse it with hot water. It was instantly and completely covered in oxidation the second the water hit it. I wish I had it on video.
Anyway, fun times. Best of luck with the oxidation.

My experience indicates hot water doesn't cause oxidation, but will reveal it. When that happens here, a re-coating of mineral oil takes it back to looking as it did before.

 

[PipeMarc]

I have a few cheaper pipes that oxidized after a couple months… never immediately. Wild.

 

[Sacred_summit]

Butcher block oil is a combination of mineral oil, carnauba wax, and beeswax.


It sounds like my suspicions were correct. It had started to oxidize, and I merely covered it up as you said.


I'll sand it down to remove the oxidation and then reapply a few coats of the conditioner and see how it goes!


Thank you for all of your help!

 

[bullet08]

Not all volcanite stems are same. Not all Peterson volcanite stems are same. You can remove oxidation with sandpaper and put best prevention on it, and it might just oxidized front of your eyes. Forget about it. Just enjoy the smoke. Women's make ups last even shorter.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I decided, like a dummy, to rinse it with hot water. It was instantly and completely covered in oxidation the second the water hit it.

Same, especially if steam is involved.

 

[Chasing Embers]

or possibly, flame.

Absolutely. Much less heavy handed than sandpaper and less likely to deform the stem.

 

[seanv]

Be careful with the sandpaper. I would recommend investing in some micro mesh pads. Have patience and remember that less is more.

 

[Sacred_summit]

Of it continues oxidizing, can I just smoke it oxidized?

 

[mingc]

Of it continues oxidizing, can I just smoke it oxidized?

Yes, lots of people do. Oxidized rubber can taste bad so it depends on whether you can tolerate the taste or if you can taste it at all.

 

[kcghost]

Looks to me like the vaunted Peterson's have a problem.

 

[augiebd]

I bought a new Comoy pot that had been displayed in the shop window. As soon as I put it in my mouth it instantly oxidized. I wasn’t too happy but I had bought it on vacation so was stuck with it.

 

[OzPiper]

There was a period when Peterson was using inferior vulcanite And having other issues.

I bought a new Pete a few years ago.
Always stored in a darkened cupboard.
Stem showed signs of oxidation after a (very) few smokes.
I attempted to address the problem by polishing with toothpaste.
Which resulted in a few micro pits.

I should have paid attention to the online comments about the poor quality of Petes, but decided to take a chance as it was AFTER Laudisi took over Peterson.
Obviously I did not wait long enough as the one I got was very likely stock left over from the previous regime