Stem Oxidation

[mozzmann]

I have a Charatan that has a stem with some yellow oxidation on it. Will tripoli remove the yellowish stain?

 

[unclearthur]

White "diamond" will take off less of the stem and leave a smoother finish. That said , first give the stem a quick bleach soak.

 

[pstlpkr]

Are you talking about brass polish, guys?

 

[igloo]

Mentadent toothpaste works wonders and leaves the stem minty fresh .

 

[unclearthur]

Metal type polish for the buffer is what I am talking about .

 

[papipeguy]

Home Depot, Lowes and hardware stores carry a product called Flitz. Its a paste that comes in tubes. Made in Germany. It polishes almost everything and I've used it to bring pipe stems back to life. Also works well on silver bands on pipes. Very gentle on surfaces and highly recommended.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thanks PA, I'll check it out.

I need something.

I've always been a little leery of attempting to polish my pipe stems, and I have no buffer.

 

[briarbrian]

Yes tripoli will remove the staining on the stem. Then buff it with the white diamond after and then wax it and it will be shiney as new again. Just make sure you buff the stem on the pipe. To get close to the shank end without buffing the end of the shank tape the end of the shank with masking tape or better yet blue painters tape. You do tis so that you dont buff the stain off the end of the shank.

 

[tedswearingen]

Check this out. The two minute mark in the video is of particular interest to this thread.
http://www.smokingpipes.com/blog/1/2010/08/Video-Estate-Restoration-at-Smokingpipescom-Part-III.cfm

 

[cortezattic]

Great tips, all ...and the last, the oxi-clean, seems the easiest yet.

 

[fred]

I've read reports from more than a few who use Oxi-Clean

with good results on Vulcanite. After cleaning and buffing,

more oxidation will come to the surface as the Pipe is smoked,

so this can take a few rounds of aggressive cleaning before routine

maintenance works. For me, regular use of Everclear and bit polish

goes a long way to keeping Vulcanite looking good.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Why do you guys bother spending all this time cleaning your stems. When it gets too dirty, just spray them black again with a little gloss spray paint. A can of spray paint from the hardware store will make a good 40 to 50 pipe stems look like new.

 

[tedswearingen]

Why do you guys bother spending all this time cleaning your stems. When it gets too dirty, just spray them black again with a little gloss spray paint. A can of spray paint from the hardware store will make a good 40 to 50 pipe stems look like new.

You might be onto something here.

 

[papipeguy]

The spray paint idea may be something to persue. There use to be a product that bald guys could spray on their head to cover their spots. Of course, in the hot weather it tended to run making them look like they were leaking oil.

I know a couple of rubber chemists. I'll pose the question to them.

 

[hauntedmyst]

There use to be a product that bald guys could spray on their head to cover their spots. Of course, in the hot weather it tended to run making them look like they were leaking oil.

I tried that stuff once. Not on my head, but on my nether regions (after an incident with an at home shoe buffer gone horribly awry) and it did leak when you got hot. I ended up ruining 3 pair of white sailor shorts and looked like I had hersey squirts in the front. Plus, the wife said it just wasn't sexy.
chemists schmemists! The best part of the using the paint idea is that when you chomp down on the bit, over time pieces of paint that flake off give you something to spit.

 

[mlaug]

LOL!!

 

[tedswearingen]

Maybe we could get flavored paint made, you know, to further complicate our hobby. The best would be unavailable for years at a time and there could be a billion different home spun techniques for applying it.

 

[excav8tor]

I don't tend to have problems with stem oxidization if they start to look a little grubby I eat them and then get some more. They certainly taste better than they smoke though!!!