Blog by Joyal Taylor
This is the second article by Joyal (known online as holymolar). It is with pleasure that I put this on the blog. Joyal does some great work in restoration and in his own words “You’ve probably realized already that I particularly like restoring stems”. Thanks Joyal for your take on the process of cleaning up deeply oxidized stems. I look forward to more articles on your work. Without further introduction here is Joyal.
Check out the stems on these 3 restored estate pipes. They look OK, don’t they? Polished, shiny, no obvious oxidation.
Let’s look closer.
The upper stem seems OK.
On the middle stem, is that oxidation near the shank end and also in the bit crease?
On the lower stem, how did I miss that oxidation toward the bit end?
Let’s turn out the lights and shine a flashlight (at an angle) onto the stems.
HOLEY MOLEY, BATMAN!
Where did all of that oxidation come from?
I’ve got to start all over on these stems.
That deep oxidation can be removed – if you’re willing to spend a lot of time sanding, especially with the coarser grits. Start with a 2 hour Oxyclean bath to soften the oxidation. Then 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper with water. Then follow with 400, 600, maybe 800 and 1000 grit. Finally micro mesh pads (1500-12000), then final polish and buff.
Is it worth it to go after that deep oxidation? Maybe, maybe not. That’s up to you.
Followup on removing the oxidation on the stems.
Since I had already used Oxyclean on these stems, I got more aggressive the second time around. I put the stems in a bleach bath (50% diluted with water) for 1 hour. One of the stems wasn’t done so it went back in the bleach (at full strength) for 2 additional hours. Then I soaked the stems in an alcohol bath for 1 hour to neutralize the bleach smell and taste. Then I spent about 1 hour, on each stem, wet sanding (220, 400, 600, 800 grit) and micromesh (1500-12000). The following photos were taken before carnauba wax polishing/buffing. It was a lot of work but time well spent because the stems feel as smooth as satin to my lips and tongue.
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I hadn’t learned the flashlight trick before, and since I just managed to (I thought) finish polishing a stem only to take it out in the sunlight and see the acre of oxidation I missed, I’m happy to add it to the toolbox. Thanks for the post!
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Joyal, they say timing is everything. I received a pipe yesterday I bought on eBay a week ago and when it arrived I was under the impression it had been “sanitized” by the seller. YUCK!! The shine was very nice. But the color was a little “off” in the light. When I took a pipe cleaner to it with Everclear on it it all came undone. The shine disappeared and the GRIME arrived in spades!
It soaked overnight and I am doing a thorough cleaning on it to make is so I would use it.
As an added bonus the stem has a small crack in it too!
Good advise to do your own inspections and make it clean for you! Thanks
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I’ve cleaned up stems and they look great UNTIL you shine the flashlight at an angle. Yuck. But they are good enough for most people, they look jet black and shiny. Just don’t shine the light on them!
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