Pipe Stems Still Brown - Help!

[Troutlaw]

Alrighty so I’ll follow this post up with a couple pictures. Long story short I’m trying my hand at refurbishing an old pipe. Got a Savinelli Antique Shell Briar and got to work on the stem. Oxyclean bath for a few hours + toothpaste/toothbrush cleaning. Repeated this until the water was clear. Took some micromesh to it until she was smooth but it still has this brown coloration.

Did I not let it soak in the oxyclean bath enough? Does she need to be taken to the buffer wheel? Any help is appreciated, gentlemen!

-Troutlaw

 

[Troutlaw]

 

[Chasing Embers]

Oxyclean bath for a few hours

That does more damage than good, causes pitting.

toothpaste/toothbrush cleaning

Toothpaste is good for raising the shine but won't remove oxidation.

Took some micromesh to it until she was smooth but it still has this brown coloration.

Need to start with about 1000 grit to get it off, or use a Magic Eraser.

 

[Wet Dottle]

There are many threads about stem cleaning in the forums. Very useful information there. I've gotten a buffer for that and there's no going back.

 

[mso489]

Look for the posts from chasingembers. He takes some deeply grungy stems and makes them look better than brand new. I'm not sure anybody can duplicate that, but he will definitely put you on the right track. He's the Vulcanite whisperer.

 

[mingc]

Forget the oxyclean. Keep sanding until you hit black. Good luck.

 

[sablebrush52]

Oxyclean is useless against oxidation. People keep looking for a short cut and there is no short cut. The infected material has to be physically removed until it's gone, and that means sanding it off. 1000 grit is a good start, then work your way through micromesh pads, the coarser to further remove oxidized vulcanite and once you hit black, the finer grits to bring it to a mirror like shine. Keep these out of sunlight.

 

[jakesmokes]

This is what works for me. I’m a painter (auto) so I use mostly the same stuff I would buff a car with on a my pipes. I start with a 3m ultra fine sand sponge It’s (800-1000) grit. I use that wet, I sand in the sink with it running the water helps keep the stem shiny so you can see where the black starts and the brown stops. I sand with that untill it’s all black. Then I use 3m 1500,2000 wet dry sand paper wet until I think I’ve gotten all the scratches out from the previous grit. Then I use 3m trizact foam backed 3,000 grit wet until I feel like I’ve gotten all the 2,000 grit scratches out. After all that I buff with a dremel on the lowest setting with a foam pad.I buff with 3m perfect it buffing compound 36060 with the more aggressive foam pad then follow that up with 3m perfect it polishing compound 06094 with the finest foam pad. Soap and water till clean then a coat of mineral oil and wipe it down with a microfiber towel.

 

[Chasing Embers]

that means sanding it off

Or scorching it off.

I buff with 3m perfect it buffing compound 36060 with the more aggressive foam pad then follow that up with 3m perfect it polishing compound 06094 with the finest foam pad. Soap and water till clean then a coat of mineral oil and wipe it down with a microfiber towel.

I remove the oxidation with a lighter and a wet paper towel then bring it to a mirror shine by thumb buffing with toothpaste.

 

[bullet08]

Tried my hand at polishing a stem. I think I like grey vulcanite stems now.

 

[captpat]

As others have said there's no secret sauce, oxidized stem material has to be removed. One needs to be careful using dremel or buffing wheels as those tools can remove material astonishingly quickly. Before you know it the stem markings are gone forever. I prefer using wet/dry sandpaper or micromesh pads, using the buffer only to apply and polish the final wax.

Oxidation will not stop and one needs to continually attend to the proper care of a rubber stem (keep it coated, out of sunlight, etc.) and that's the main reason that I prefer acrylic stems.

 

[jeff540]

Might just be my body chemistry, but old Vulcanite tastes like a trash fire to me no matter how shiny it gets, because the oxidized crud is also on the inside of the stem. I've sent several pipes to Boswell's for replacement with Lucite, which is my permanent fix. It's like $40 and you never have to f**k with it again.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I’ve had good success with Before & After Deoxidizer by La Belle Epoque:

Before & After Deoxidizer :: Pipe Repair and Maintenance

Any of you familiar with Steve Laug's pipe restoration blog are probably familiar with La Belle Epoque's Before & After Deoxidizer. I was getting tired of using buffing pads to remove oxidation from pipe stems, and I didn't like the fact that I was removing physical material from the stem. I...

pipesmagazine.com

After treatment, the stem will have a slight matte finish that you may wish to polish to a greater shine. But the stem will not be pitted the way I’ve seen OxyClean treatments have left some stems. Very often, I see restorations take the shine to a much higher gloss than factory issue (like a dripping wet candied apple), so I don’t always feel that’s the approach I want to take. These days, I usually use a higher grit buffing pad and take the finish to a slight sheen by hand, then coat with Obsidian Oil.

 

[jakesmokes]

Or scorching it off.



I remove the oxidation with a lighter and a wet paper towel then bring it to a mirror shine by thumb buffing with toothpaste.

View attachment 217885View attachment 217886View attachment 217887

Can’t argue with those results gonna give that a try next time

 

[Chasing Embers]

Can’t argue with those results gonna give that a try next time

Surprised me as well when I first heard about it, but the results blew me away.

 

[anotherbob]

I am of the school that the little signs of heavy use and age are improvements and that a shiny stem is nice but who needs a pipe they can pretend is virgin?

 

[Green Hill Hermit]

Magic erasers work great, after put a light coat of mineral oil and wipe dry

 

[kcghost]

@chasingembers is a very good source of info on how to handle this problem.

 

[crusader]

Surprised me as well when I first heard about it, but the results blew me away.

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Have you tried a heat gun instead of the flame?

 

[Puffaluffaguss]

If your looking to not spend money, the wife or a lady friend might have some "Bar Keepers Friend" the powder version. Mix it a bit thick and and hand rub the stem with it. It's worked for me in a pinch.