Restoration Troubles

[Effortlessdepths]

Wow you guys.... having a lot of trouble with this stem. Not sure if it's acrylic or plastic, feels like it could be plastic because the bit is chewed a lot, can't imagine someone being able to do that to acrylic. It's an estate piece, my guess is 70's but I have almost zero knowledge there.

In any case, my problem is that I CANNOT get a pipe cleaner or a stiff metal wire through, closest to the tenon. Feels like I'm straight up hitting a wall. Can anyone identify the material and give some pointers? Can I soak it in anything to help me get it clear? I really want to restore this, it's for a close friend of mine.

 

[ofafeather]

Looks like it might be plastic. High proof alcohol would a good start for a soak.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Good lord! It looks like the end of a dog bone! Haha. Soaking it in oxi-clean may loosen up any junk that has hardened inside the airway. Doesn't always work, but it's worked for me in the past. Also good for removing oxidation, although that will require some scrubbing/sanding too.

 

[ashdigger]

If the bit is collapsed/chewed down I’d apply a little heat to open it up. The slot might be extremely thin, and that requires needle files to open up.

 

[mingc]

I'd wager it's plastic. Vulcanite that's that well used would be green. By the way, acrylic is a kind of plastic.

I would not soak plastic in alcohol. Depending on the kind of plastic, it could be reduced to a soft gooey mess (ask me how I know). You could try heating it up in hot water and run a smoothed over wire of the right size into it to open up the draft hole.

 

[Effortlessdepths]

Here's what the bowl looks like

 

[Effortlessdepths]

Any advice on how what product to use to get the bowl nice and shiny again? A finish or a stain? No idea what to use. Also as far as the stem goes, what materials would be best to get it smooth and shiny again?

 

[OzPiper]

I've had (very) old estate pipes with totally blocked shanks/mortises because they had never been cleaned in 100years. I use small jewellers' screwdrivers very gently to work through the blockage and then flushing with warm water, small bristle brushes and lots and lots of alcohol soaked pipecleaners. Oh, and lots of patience.

I scrub the bowls with a toothbrush and soap, then apply Halcyon or Paragon wax and buff with a soft cloth, if it doesn't look too bad. Or micromesh pads if it need further polishing. I don't like very shiny briars.

 

[kcghost]

Yeah, I have an idea.... you should send that puppy out to someone who makes a living doing that and has a good reputation.

 

[mikethompson]

With the mouthpiece that chewed up, I'd wager that it was just bit down, and not blocked by any tars or anything in the airway. I'd use a hair dryer and the end of a pin and see if that helped.

 

[Effortlessdepths]

Finally broke through the build up, lots of pipe cleaners and liquor did the trick, as someone said above. Now, it's definitely plastic so how would I go about making it smooth and shiny again? Micromesh pads?

 

[ofafeather]

Now, it's definitely plastic so how would I go about making it smooth and shiny again?

Try heat first. Hair dryer or heat gun gently applied might raise some of the impressions a bit. You can definitely sand smooth but you might want to fill bigger impressions with CA possibly mixed with activated charcoal for color.