New Idea - Pipe Stems

[number6]

I was looking at a few estate pipes with oxidized stems (that horrible green or brown) and an idea popped into my head.
My other hobby is detailing my cars and to clean the tires, I spray on Westley's Bleche White. It causes the tires to leech out brown road grime and oxidation.
I decided to try on a few pipe stems. I was amazed at the results. I sprayed the stem, let sit for 15-30 seconds and then rinsed. The results are here in pics.
Make sure you thoroughly rinse the stems (I did an alcohol wipe and high pressure steam also.) The whole process took less than 5 minutes. Westley's is not to be consumed and has warnings. (Bleach and de-natured alcohol have the same negatives.)

ps: I hate to have to add this but, because of our litigious world, i will not be responsible for any harmful effects. Try at your own risk.

 

[jchaplick]

Woah, solid results

 

[drsam]

http://www.walkerbriarworks.com/html/vulcanite_info_.html
You might want to read this guys. Go to above url and read....carefully.

 

[number6]

How is it any worse than soaking in bleach for a much longer time? :?:That seems to be the solution offered by many people. This seems to do substantially less damage.
Also, it is not boiled at all, only rinsed in cool water (the high pressure jet steam I used for a moment only and did no obvious damage. Probably isn't needed.)

 

[kennerth]

drsam, I am always skeptical when someone says not to try anything else but the stuff they sell. I am sure Walker's stuff does a fine job, but they have a vested interest in their advice to only use their product, so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
To the others, I am of the school of thought that I don't want to use anything on my pipe that I wouldn't allow in my body (hence, the liberal use of rum!).

 

[ejames]

I will be trying this! I usually bleach heavily oxidized stems but if this is quicker........

 

[kennerth]

Ok, I am not afraid to admit it when I am wrong. While I don't recommend it, it appears that Westley's Bleche White is not much different that bleach. After reviewing the material Data Safety Sheet (http://www.cooperbooth.com/datasheets/4404202.pdf), it doesn't seem to me to be much worse than bleach, which we consume in our water every day. I look forward to hearing if anyone else had an experience with it and if any long term effects, positive or negative, were noted.

 

[ejames]

I have never used Walkers stem cleaning system. I have bleached hundreds of stems. Never ruined any. I've sold a lot of pipes with stems I have bleached,never had a complaint.Most of my smokers have bleached stems-I ain't complaining.
Why in the world would anyone boil a stem? It's very quick way to make a vulcanite stem oxidize.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I just did a search on "Westley's", thinking that it was logical that it would work since it's designed for cleaning rubber tires. You spray that stuff on and the brown comes flowing out. I'm going to try it. I presently use an OxyClean / 220 grit sandpaper / Micromesh sheets / buffer method. It works, of course, but on some stems, the oxidation is so deep, even sandpaper can be pretty laborious.
Regarding the Walker stem cleaning system, the only real difference between his oxidizing compound and any other oxidizer is that it would only affect the exterior of the pipe. I've never really worried much about the inside being affected because I doubt there's any meaningful oxidation inside at all, so I don't think the bleaches would do much to the vulcanite on the inside. The evidence of that is the tenons, which typically are unoxidized. Those don't get rough and nasty in OxyClean in my experience.

 

[bonanzadriver]

Craig,
I experience the same thing. I've never had any negative experiences using oxyclean(generic actually from the dollar store).
Usually just let em sit overnight and clean em up.
Admittedly, I've only been refurbin / restorin for about 9 or so months now, so I probably don't know what I don't know.

 

[nevadablue]

I am a newbie at this, but it seems that Walker's is the ONLY thing that won't RUIN your stem. Hmmm... only 20 bucks. 8)
Think I will pick up a bottle of tire cleaner.

 

[nevadablue]

I just read that the original recipe is gone, no longer made. But, others say the Meguiars Wheel and tire cleaner may even be better. I will try to get some.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Magic Eraser and fine grit sandpaper won't ruin a stem either.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Magic Eraser and fine grit sandpaper won't ruin a stem either.

True that. Add a tiny bit of mineral oil and you've got a new stem.

 

[hobie1dog]

I just watched the YouTube video of the guy using the 5 different micromesh files? Anyway they looked like fingernail sanding files only they were 1000-2000 grit. It took only a minute to lightly file down and polish an oxidized stem.
Thanks for resurrecting this old thread.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Anyway they looked like fingernail sanding files only they were 1000-2000 grit.

They are actually much finer. I go up to 12000 and it gets to a high-gloss.

 

[georged]

The bleach thing again?
Whether on vulcanized rubber or ferrous metal, the corrosion from oxidation is a new, different substance at the atomic level. It's no longer what it once was, and cannot be changed back.
It can only be physically removed.
Physical removal can be accomplished by:
1) Dissolving it into a solution, and then sanding/scraping/etc. the resulting uneven, pebbly surface back to level
or
2) skipping the unnecessary chemical step and going straight to the sanding/scraping/etc. that you were going to have to do anyway
Me? I do far too much de-greening of vulcanite stems to want to make the task more time consuming and messy than necessary. Why so many people do---an example of walking out your BACK door and then around the world to cross the street in front of your house---has always been a source of wonder.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Pipe smoking is a neverending source of mystery, myth, and dogma.

 

[oldmansmoking]

Forgive my humble thoughts but why bother to get rid of the oxidation at all, why not just leave it green? Just a thought.

Rub mine with vergin olive oil every now and then. Seem ok to me, then I don't suffer extremely OCD's.

 

[craiginthecorn]

I tried the current version of Bleche White. My last container of it was in a rectangular spray can. It was a waste of time and money, I'm afraid. It did no more to lift the oxidation than the other bleaching methods.
I am in complete agreement that in the end, sanding is required. In my experience, however, the OxyClean soak followed by the Magic Eraser can save a lot of time and, ultimately, I believe saves a bit more of the vulcanite. I believe it softens the oxidized layer so that it can be more readily removed. While we can all speculate over the long-term effects of bleaching, nowhere have I read a post that stated that someone bleached a stem years ago and now it's deteriorating as a result. Let's face it. Vulcanite isn't all that permeable. The bleach only goes so far and, at least on the outside, you're removing most or all of that material with subsequent sanding.
Someone pointed out that he didn't use the bleach soak for fear that it would roughen the inside of the stem and affect airflow. That's a thought-provoking point, but I don't think there's much to worry about there. Many of us have, I'm sure, soaked a stem and removed the softened material, only to find that more oxidation remained. I dare say that's most of the time. So what do we do? Soak it again. Invariably, much less material softens and eventually you're left with sanding the rest. My theory is that this happens because bleaching doesn't affect the rubber -- only the oxidized sulphur compounds. Since the interior of the stem is dark, gets relatively little exposure to air, and is often coated with a layer of tars, I don't think it really oxidizes in there. It would follow then, that bleaching is benign to the draft hole in the stem.
Bottom line? My process will remain soak in OxyClean, scrub with a Magic Eraser, sand with Micro Mesh sheets, buff with White Diamond compound, and apply Obsidian Oil.
Now, if it's a stem with no details I care about losing, then I will often skip the OxyClean and Magic eraser and replace those steps with 220 grit sandpaper. That's ultimately faster. I just refurbished a fancy twisted Preben Holm stem that, oddly enough, was on a Caminetto Business stummel. Even with micro mesh sheets and a foam rubber block, the details would have been nearly impossible to clean. The OxyClean/Magic Eraser method was far preferable in that case. In addition, the Preben Holm stamp had a very light impression which would have been lost to sandpaper.
Still, I'm a relative rookie at this, having refurbished maybe 50 pipes. I'm getting better and faster at it thanks to experimentation and great discussions like these. Thanks everyone!