The effects of oxidation

[matchstickman]

I have recently tried my hand at restoring some old estates and am finding the process to be rather enjoyable now that I have the hang of it, but I have a small concern. I was working on an old Masterbilt pipe the other day, trying to scrub oxidation off the stem. I have been using a magic eraser to do this at the suggestion of some other forum members as it seemed the most non toxic way to do it, and considering that I dont mind using a little elbow grease. My only concern is that in scrubbing off the oxidation, I have almost started to scrub off the emblem, so I quit scrubbing, and I noticed that there is still a bit of oxidation on that part of the stem. Will leaving this little bit of oxidation affect its smokability/my health? I dont want to scrub the logo off but am afraid of smoking the pipe with the oxidation on there as I don't know if there are any health risks involved. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[unclearthur]

You can carefully coat the logo with Vaseline and give it a soak in Oxyclean. Then a light scrub should finish off your oxidation problems. Leaving a wee bit on the stem isn't a problem other than being a wee bit unsightly.

 

[baronsamedi]

Good to know. I've had nearly the same experience with my longchamps. I'm willing to tolerate a wee bit of oxidation, but otherwise I'm after it with the 600 grit sandpaper.

 

[matchstickman]

Unclearthur, just so were clear, are you referring to soaking in oxyclean and scrubbing with the magic eraser, or scrubbing with something else?

 

[bubbadreier]

Magic eraser after the Oxyclean is what you are looking for!

 

[matchstickman]

Nifty! Now my only other question is how long should I let the stem soak in oxyclean?

 

[collin]

It is not oxidation. It is sulphur.

 

[collin]

Vulcanite or Ebonite, (or car tires for that matter), are made of vulcanized rubber, which is...oversimplified, a combination of rubber and sulphur.

Over time the relatively weak chemical bond holding the two together weakens, resulting in the loss of sulphur.
Sulphur is yellow......hence the straw to olive color on the surface of the stem, bowling ball, tire, or whatever.
Chlorine turns sulphur black. Which is why so many of us use a Clorox solution to soak our stems in to "remove the oxidation". The truth of the matter is; it is as I said....not oxidation,....and it is not removed.
:D True story.

 

[cyndi]

Tommy - things make so much more sense now! It's like vacuum hoses in an engine - when they are overheated and become dry, they turn yellow and crumbly then will crack and break, normally at the bend or nipple of the tube.

 

[tslex]

Uncle A, what concentration of Oxiclena are you using. i.e., what amount of powder to water?

 

[matchstickman]

I cant speak for what unclearthur uses, but I take a Ziploc food storage container, I think its the 1 quart size, and fill it most of the way with the hottest water that I can get, then dump in one whole scoop of oxyclean (its the scoop that comes in the container), then swish it around a bit to get it good and mixed up. A soak for anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour seems to do well at softening the oxidation, and most of it scrubs right off with a magic eraser and minimal effort.

 

[unclearthur]

I throw about half of a scoop in a large cottage cheese container full of water