Niether will remove oxidized rubber, or old ghosted rubber from within the airway.
The Pink Stuff will do it easily with proper technique.
The Pink Stuff
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The Pink Stuff will do it easily with proper technique.
All this talk of dipping your stem in the pink stuff…I need a cold shower.
Never said they did. A lighter and a wet paper towel will remove external oxidation without the use of chemicals. Whitening toothpaste, dish soap, or alcohol will remove tar buildup or past tobacco smells from the airway of ebonite stems.
I did a bit of reading up on Perspex and white vinegar is a no no.
If memory serves, in The House at Pooh Corner Eeyore gave Tigger nettles to eat when Pooh and company were trying to discover just what it was that Tiggers actually ate. Tigger's verdict: "Hot!"
I'm quite familiar with how to remove external oxidation. Whitening toothpaste, dish soap, and or alcohol will not remove all past tobacco smells from the airway of all old ebonite stems, from by experience and certainly not from a Perspex stem (no alcohol allowed, per Jesse). I've tried it many many times. They do a fine job on a your normal everyday pipe stem. But some of these estate pipes have taste in the stem that I've only been able to remove with The Pink Stuff. Which is why I posted info about it in the first place. It was meant to be just another tool in the ammo box to fight against the ghosts of smokers past, not as a replacement for known and acceptable best practices.
Leeds, Maine, USA is the town next to us to the North.
When first reading the thread title, the only pink stuff that came to mind was Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff.
When first reading the thread title, the only pink stuff that came to mind was Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff.
I always avoided these clear stems because they seem to be a pain to clean. Did you just dip the pipe cleaner in Pink Stuff?
Not really dipping. It's a paste, so I took a churchwarden length pipe cleaner and clamped one end in a small vise. Smear The Pink Stuff along the pipe cleaner. Insert other end in pipe stem and hold the end with a pair of pliers. Hold the pipe cleaner tight and straight with pliers while running the stem back and forth the length of the pipe cleaner. Keep doing it until the airway is clear. It's nice to be able to see the progress. Most of the time we don't have that luxury and can only judge how clean an airway is by the taste. Goodluck!
As you mention, important to keep it straight and don't go too fast! (Trying to keep @woodsroad 's comment out of my head...).
I managed to wear a big groove out of the slot of an old perspex stem a few years ago by doing this wrong.
Yup ^^^
Simple process, but easy to mess up. Any pressure applied in the wrong plane will groove-ify your slot and-or airway.
Do it just so, though, and it'll shine like glass ---
Yes, like that! I didn't quite angle to those extremes, except a few strokes to either side. I did it slowly and checked often. Also I constantly rotated the stem about it's axis as I stroked. I tried the red rouge as well on the Perspex, it did get some of it out, but I wasn't able to get it all out and crystal clear till I used The Pink Stuff. It does take a little common sense in technique. I'll leave it at that
Like I said guys, it's just another tool in the ammo box against the ghosts of smokers past.
It's very worthwhile to keep around for those stubburn stems that don't want to give up the ghost!
As a side note... I hesitate to use "whitening" toothpaste in the airway of a stem due to the fact it usually contains peroxide. Same reasoning many of us are not a proponent of oxyclean...
The Pink Stuff is the Right Stuff IMHO
It's very worthwhile to keep around for those stubburn stems that don't want to give up the ghost!
As a side note... I hesitate to use "whitening" toothpaste in the airway of a stem due to the fact it usually contains peroxide. Same reasoning many of us are not a proponent of oxyclean...
The Pink Stuff is the Right Stuff IMHO