My third pipe is this old Medico. This time I think I will just start with spit and a rag as chasingEmbers suggests Before anything else. As always advice is earnestly solicited. Also on this one any history on the pipe would be cool?
Medico Pipe Restoration
- Thread starter AlabamaDan
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Ohhhhhh yeah those are the pictures I like to see.....
I like the natural color! It'll be fun, yet sad to see it all cleaned up!
I like the natural color! It'll be fun, yet sad to see it all cleaned up!
I've had mixed results with the paper towel trick, but definitely go with the least harsh method first.
Medico is a fairly common US factory pipe. Here is their pipedia page:
Link
Medico is a fairly common US factory pipe. Here is their pipedia page:
Link
Yeah, if I’d caused all that lava it would be different but it’s not mine. ?
What did I do? All I did was rub the stem with some isopropyl alcohol and all of a sudden it became textured and looks terrible. I am hoping this is simply some old wax or something that is trying to come off.
Looks very similar to what happened with my Bertram restoration. Essentially the stem is made from a cheaper vulcanite. I had to sand it all down but once I did it shines up just as good as my other pipe stems.
Link
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It started looking better with just some polishing with friction and a dry rag. I put it to the side for now. This is supposed to be fun. I didn’t want to get frustrated.
If you use a dry rag there is some danger of rubbing too hard and removing some stain. He careful and go slow.
I see no oxidation on the stem so I'm guessing it's plastic. Plastic and alcohol are not friends.
What kind of rags are you using? I use dry paper shop towels to buff and have never removed any stain.
Yeah, alcohol is tricky, and unless you know what you're doing, I wouldn't use it on pipes at all. I'm not sure if there is an antidote, maybe sanding, but only lightly, judiciously, but wait to hear from some with experience on this.
Just the normal cotton rags, nothing special.
You used rubbing alcohol on the stem?
I'm using the little red shop towels, only after they've been laundered a couple of times to get all the dye and lint off; old t-shirts, old dish towels, - whatever is around.
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