Tag Archives: Repairing Bite Throughs

Repairing Deep Tooth Marks and Bite Throughs on Vulcanite Stems – AJ Verstraten

Blog by AJ Verstraten

It is with pleasure that I post AJ’s second post on rebornpipes. AJ is known to the online community as Bananabox-Ninja.

Greetings, today a small post about the use of black super glue on a few pipes I had previously cleaned and refurbished; before I found Rebornpipes. This did give me a small problem as I did not extensively take pictures of the process as I had no reason to share the process at that moment and as such I am missing a few ‘before’ pictures.

The pipes I revisited for this project were:
– 11 Wahl Filtro
– Lorenzo Elba
– Machiavelli Como
– BBB Medina
– Spitfire by Lorenzo Riviera
All of them had bite marks on the mouthpiece and the Riviera had even been bitten clean through.

Lorenzo is a good Italian brand that is quite popular in Germany. The BBB Medina is an old English made pipe that has a good reputation here in the Dutchlands. The Wahl and the Machiavelli pipes are a mystery to me. I can find some eBay listings for them but I cannot pinpoint their true origin.

First up the pictures I did have of the before process.

BBB Medina

Lorenzo Elba

11 Wahl

As these pipes had already been waxed I first removed the wax layer using my motor, water and grinding wheel. This only took a few moments, after which I used a cotton swab and some alcohol to really clean the surface of the mouthpiece.

The following steps I repeated a few times as I found I was a little impatient in the drying process, I advise to let the glue set for a night just to be sure it is dry to the core.

Using a piece of cardboard dipped in Vaseline (sorry no pictures) I closed the hole in the Riviera mouthpiece and with cotton swabs and toothpicks applied the glue to the bite marks on all the other mouthpieces.

When the glue had dried I used 600 and 1000 grit sanding paper wrapped around a model file to sand off the excess glue and smooth the mouthpiece.

I checked the smoothness using my mouth and tongue and although in all cases it felt smooth I noticed that in taking the pictures of the finished product the glue spots are visible. This bothered me, like when I sand a round shoulder or edge on the stem. A casual observer will not notice this, but I know it is there and it will bother me. However I decided against re-sanding them in the hopes of getting them perfect. Because in the end it is my lips and tongue that are handling the mouthpiece the most, not my eyes 

To finalize this short post here are the finished mouthpieces, pipes and the tools I used for this project.

11 Wahl Filtro

Lorenzo Elba

Machiavelli Como

BBB Medina

Spitfire by Lorenzo Riviera

Tools used during this project

Black Super Glue Repair to a Damaged Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

Using the stem on the little Barling I repaired earlier as an example I thought I would post the process of repairing bite marks with Black Super Glue. The glue is available online at a variety of sources, though I purchased mine from http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Glues,_adhesives.html a company that is a supplier for stringed instrument repairmen. They offer super glue in several colours and viscosities. I order the black super glue from them that comes with whip tip nozzles as I find that it is easy to control the size of the drops used. I also have used the clear super glue and it works very well in several other applications including repairing and replacing fills on older pipes. They also carry a wide variety of micromesh sanding pads and papers. It is a great resource for hard to find items (at least in Canada) that I use regularly in my repairs.

I always seek to repair a stem in the least intrusive manner possible. In the case of the stem below I heated the tooth dents to try and lift them as much as possible before any other method was used. This can be done carefully with a heat gun – I stand the gun on its stand, turn it on its lowest setting and move the damaged part of the stem in the heat about 4-6 inches above the tip of the gun. If it gets too close the vulcanite is damaged through burning. The other method that I have used avoids this problem – it involves putting a cup of water in a microwave and boiling it. Once it is hot place the stem button end down in the boiling water and leave it. Repeat as often as necessary or until there is no more lift on the dents of marks in the stem. Note if the dents have sharp edges, or are cuts, the heat will not lift the dents at all. It also will not work on holes or bite throughs on the stem.

In Photos 1 and 2 the stem is pictured as I received it on the pipe. The first photo shows the top of the stem and shows the damage to the button and the surface – mostly dents. The second photo shows the underside of the stem. It was significantly worse that the top. The dents were very deep and the button was virtually destroyed. At this point it is probably pertinent to ask whether the stem should have been replaced or not. Several things went against doing that in my opinion. The first was that this is an original Transition Era Barling stem. It is hard to find replacements that have the slab look and slight taper on the saddle that are hallmarks of the Barling stem. The second was that the tenon on this one is very tiny. I did not have a tool that allowed me to turn that small of a tenon. Thus I decided to give it a repair. Then of course, if you have followed this blog for long you will understand, there was the challenge. Could I possible restore the stem to at least a semblance of its original “glory” and functionality?

So with the decision made I turned to work on this stem. I used my heat gun to lift the marks as much as I could on the top and the bottom of the stem. The two pictures below show the effect of the heat on the stems. The first photo shows the top of the stem – the heat actually lifted those bit marks quite a bit. It took out the rounded edges of the dents. What is left was actually sharp edges or cuts from the teeth on the button and on the surface. You will also notice that some of the oxidation burned off in the process. I also sanded the surface with 240 grit sand paper to better see what I was dealing with on this stem. The second photo shows the underside of the stem – the heat lifted the dents significantly but not totally. The sharp edges on the dents still remain, as does the destroyed button and the hole is very visible. I repeated the heating process several times (to be honest I lost count) until there was no more visible improvement in the dents. It was time to prepare for the patching process.

Before I use super glue to patch a hole or fill dents in the stem I prepare the surface to be clean and debris free in order to get a good bond on the glue. I sand the surface with 240 grit to remove the oxidation as much as possible. I want the area under the patch to be black so that the glue matches. Oxidation on the edges of the patch makes that match impossible. Once I have the surface sanded I buff it with Tripoli to take a bit of the roughness out. I don’t want a glossy finish as a little roughness gives surface for the glue to bite into. But I do want it clean. I wash the stem with isopropyl alcohol to remove any debris that still remains, including any of the Tripoli. I use a dental pick to make sure that the edges of the hole are not cracked or broken. Doing this often opens the hole a bit larger but it also removes chips or cracking that will not provide a good base for the patch. I finish the cleanup with yet another wash with alcohol and a cotton swab. The surface should have solid edges to bind to and no extraneous sanding dust or debris that will be in the way of the patch.

On this stem the easiest part to patch was the top of the stem so I started with that part. I used the whip nozzle on the super glue and dripped it on the stem. I smoothed the drop out with the end of the whip. I want the dent and cut to be totally filled so I moved the glue back and forth until it was all covered and then set it aside to dry with the end of the stem propped up to keep the patch level. The first picture below shows the patch after the glue had dried. It formed a solid patch on the stem. I always layer the patch doing multiple layers until I have built up the hole and dent. In this case I also used the glue to build up the button. While the picture does not show it clearly, the glue is actually level with the top of the button and small spots of glue are moved into the dent marks in the button surface itself. In the second photo the stem shows the patch after sanding with 240 grit sandpaper. The object was to get a smooth surface on the stem. The dent marks in front of the button are gone. The brown spot on the stem is some oxidation that has not been sanded out yet. The button is also repaired and you can see a bit of the bulk that is now there. The button will need to be shaped and recut with needle files once the underside of the stem is also patched.

Once I had the top surface of the stem to the point it is pictured above I turned the stem over to work on the underside. This part of the stem was really the challenge on this one. It had deep tooth cuts and a bite through that needed to be repaired. The first step for me was to repair the bite through. I fold a pipe cleaned to fit the flared slot on the button. I greased it with olive oil and inserted it in the slot. I wanted it to be smooth and not pucker through the bite hole, so I tucked it down with my dental pick. Once it was set I put in the first drops of black super glue. Remember at this point I am not work on the surface detail of the holes only the bite through. Once it was patched I went on to fill the other deep dents and marks on the surface and build up the button. I set aside the stem on a level surface and raise the tenon end to keep the bubble of glue level so it would dry.

Once the glue dried I removed the pipe cleaner from the slot. This is always the moment of truth for me – did I grease it well enough that the pipe cleaner did not permanently bond to the slot. In this case it worked perfectly and it came out easily! Whew! Once it was removed I filled the rest of the dent marks with the super glue and also built up the non-existent button. I forgot to take pictures of that step. So the verbal description and the picture of the topside fill will have to suffice. I set the stem aside again and leveled the glue so that it would dry and not run up the stem. Super glue dries very hard and is a lot of work to sand off the surface. Once it was dry I sanded the surface with 240 grit sandpaper once again to level out the surface. The picture below shows the stem at that stage in the process. The fills appear to be white but that is the sanding dust on the surface. You can clearly see the three large patches on the underside of the stem in this picture as well as the rebuilt portion of the button. Again I over filled the patch to the level of the top of the button to provide a solid new surface for me to work with when I recut the button with the needle files.

The next two photos show the result of the sanding process with the 240 grit sandpaper on the top and the bottom of the stem. I wanted to make sure that the patches blended into the surface of the stem. You will note that in the first photo of the top of the stem, that the patch is virtually invisible. Though it is not very clear, I had also recut the button with the needle files to give it a good sharp edge against the surface of the stem. I use wedge shaped file and a rectangular file to cut that edge cleanly and the result is a button that looks original. In the second photo you can clearly see that the patches are fairly well hidden. The one against the button and the large one at the top of the photo were the deepest ones. After this sanding and recleaning the surface I refilled those two spots, let them dry and sanded them again. Once that was completed the underside of the stem looked exactly like the topside of the stem at this point.

I failed to take pictures of recutting the button on the underside of the stem but you can see the new button in the pictures below. I cut and shaped it with the same needle files that I used on the top of the stem. I like the clean angles of a new button so I was aiming for that with just a little wear or rounding to match the age of the pipe. I finished the sanding and polishing of the stem using 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and then used the normal list of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-6000 grit. I keep a bowl of water close by to dip both the paper and the pads in as I sand as I find it more effective in removing the scratches and remaining oxidation. Once the stem was finished I put it on the pipe bowl and gave it a buff with Tripoli and White Diamond to get a good sheen to the surface. I never buff a stem apart from a pipe as I do not want to damage the stem shank junction by rounding the clean edge of the stem. The top two photos below show the top and bottom of the stem respectively. You can see the repair is complete and the button is very clean and present. The second two photos below show the stem from the right and left profile so you can see the flow of the stem surface – uninterrupted from either side with the tooth dents as before and also the profile of the button. It is distinctive and present. The stem was finished with several coats of Obsidian Oil and then carnauba wax to protect the surface.

Giving New Life to a Barling’s 2729 Fancy Bent Dublin from 1962

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I picked up this old Barling’s shape 2729 in a lot I bought on EBay. From what I could find out about it on the internet it came out in 1962. You can see from the pictures the state it was in when it arrived. It was the kind of challenge I like to work on in these old estate pipes. There is a deep satisfaction in bringing them back to life and restoring them to a spot on the pipe rack and the weekly rotation. The finish was gone, though in the grooves of the blast there was some darker brown/red stain. The blast was obscured on the sides and rim by the grime that filled the valleys in it. The rim was intact and not beat up at all – just incredible dirty. The bowl had been lightly reamed and was still round!! The stem was well chewed with deep dents on the edges of the stem and deep dents in the top and bottom. There were also holes chewed through the stem on both the top and bottom as well. The oxidation was very heavy and deep. The Barling’s Cross was all but gone on the stem but under a bright light it was faintly visible so the stem was clearly the original.

I took the stem off the pipe to work on and placed the bowl in my alcohol bath for overnight. Before submerging it in the bath I wet it with alcohol and scrubbed it with a small brass tire brush that is readily available at most Wal-Mart stores or online through Amazon. I find that the soft brass does not damage the ridges and valleys on the blast finish but really loosens the grime when used with Isopropyl alcohol. I generally dip the bowl and then scrub it before leaving it to soak. When I remove it from the bath I scrub it once again and wash off the bowl with some fresh alcohol to remove any residual grime. Once the bowl was dry it was utterly lacking any finish. It was ready to restain. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem.

The stem was a mess on this pipe as I mentioned above. Below are four pictures of it after I soaked it in Oxyclean to soften the oxidation on the surface. The pictures show how reddish brown that oxidation was when I started. I sanded the surface to highlight the bite marks and holes in the stem. The stem was badly chewed and could have been a candidate for replacement but it was an original Barling’s stem so I wanted to see if I could save it and reuse it. I cleaned the surface and picked the grit and grime out of the holes with a dental pick. I washed the surface down with Isopropyl to give a good clean surface. The button was virtually chewed away and there was a fair sized hole on the underside of the stem. The tooth marks were very deep and there was not much to work with in lifting them with heat. This made them a candidate for a patch with black super glue.

The picture below shows the top of the stem with the black super glue fill in the bite marks and holes. The idea is to slowly fill them and build up the surface of the stem. I also continued to fill them until there was a good slope from the stem surface to the top of the button. Once it was dry my plan was to use needle files to recut the button.

The next picture shows the glue after it has dried and I have done the initial sanding to smooth out the surface of the stem. I still have not recut the button at this point.

The picture below shows the underside of the stem after the glue has dried and I have done the initial sanding on the stem. It is still pretty rough but the holes are filled and the button is built up. Note in this picture the very visible copper tenon on the stem. The previous owner must have broken the tenon and had it replace with this thin copper tubing. The tenon is very delicate on this stem so the copper is actually an interesting fix in terms of durability. I have never seen a repair like that. The tubing was scored and inserted into the stem and held with an epoxy. After the soak in Oxyclean it was loose so I removed it, cleaned it and since it was a good tight fitting tenon/mortise union so I decided to reuse it. It is a wonder that he did not put a copper band around the button end of the stem as well to repair the bite through and tooth marks.

The next two pictures show the stem after sanding the stem surface smooth with 240 grit sandpaper. My purpose in using that grit is to get a clean surface to work with as I move to rework the button on the top and bottom of the stem. I had yet to work on the saddle of the stem in these pictures. I will often save that until the rest is finished.

I failed to take pictures of recutting the button on the stem but you can see the new button in the finished pictures below. I cut and shaped it with a flat needle file and a wedge needle file. I like the clean angles of a new button so I was aiming for that with just a little wear to match the age of the pipe. I finished the sanding and polishing of the stem using 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and then used the normal list of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-6000 grit. I keep a bowl of water close by to dip both the paper and the pads in as I sand as I find it more effective in removing the scratches and remaining oxidation. Once the stem was finished I put it on the pipe bowl and gave it a buff with Tripoli and White Diamond to get a good sheen to the surface. I never buff a stem apart from a pipe as I do not want to damage the stem shank junction by rounding the clean edge of the stem. Once I finished I set it aside and went back to restain the bowl.

I did a bit of research (that is a part of the process I really like) to find out about the original finish and colour of stain used on this particular pipe. I learned that it was more of a reddish tone and really wanted to get close to that reddish brown colour on the finished pipe. I used some oxblood stain and a bit of medium brown stain (both aniline stains) and gave the bowl a coat of the brown first and then flamed it and buffed it. After that I gave it a coat of the oxblood stain and flamed it. I reinserted the stem and took it to the buffer and with a light touch buffed it with Tripoli and White Diamond. I did not want to soften the ridges of the blast but wanted to buff it enough to get a contrast in the stain.

I used some Obsidian Oil on the stem and then Halcyon II wax on the bowl. Once they dried I hand buffed the stem and the bowl with a soft cotton cloth. I added a coat of wax to the stem when it was finished as well. In the pictures below you can have a look at the finished pipe. I took pictures with a .10 cent piece/dime below the pipe to give an idea of the size. It is a dainty little pipe with a pencil shank. I hope to smoke it this week end and enjoy a nice bowl of aged 5100 in it.

Stem Bite through repair – Savinelli Punto Oro Prince

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Blog by Steve Laug

I picked up this little Savinelli Prince because I really like the shape of the pipe and the spigot style stem. I bid knowing full well that the stem had a bit through on it. Once it arrived I could have replaced the stem but decided to do a stem patch on it. The pipe itself was in great shape other than the bite through near the button on top of the stem. The underside of the stem was clean with no tooth marks or chatter. As I examined it I also noticed that the previous owner seemed to have done a halfway patch on it and in the process had broken a chunk out of the button and repaired with white glue. The white glue may have been applied by the seller to keep the pieces together while he sold it. I will never know for sure, but the glue would not hold for long as it is water soluble. The two pictures below show the extent of the damage in the stem and give a good idea of the state of the pipe as a whole. It was a great pipe with some unfortunate damage to the stem.

I cleaned off the broken chunk with a dental pick, which was surprisingly easy and makes my above assertion about the seller doing a quick patch up more likely. I cleaned off the debris on the chunk (it was not very big, but was an essential piece of the button). I washed it with Isopropyl alcohol. Then I re-glued it with clear super glue. I purposely over filled the crack and pushed the piece in place until it held. I would sand off the excess glue once I had dealt with the bite through on the stem.

The bite through was a mess as well. There was oxidation in the hole as well as some built up dust and dirt. I picked the hole clean with the dental pick (by now you know that this is one of my indispensable tools in the refurbishing process). I wiped it down with a cotton swab and Isopropyl alcohol to get a good clean hole. By this point it was black and clean. I used a small round needle file to clean up the rough edges on the hole as I wanted a solid surface to work with. I washed it yet again with the alcohol to remove the grit from filing.

This time, instead of using the greased pipe cleaner in the slot I used a small nail file that fit the slot perfectly and gave a base to the glue. The hole was too big for just a pipe cleaner to provide the coverage. I greased both surfaces of the file and inserted it in the slot in the button. I gradually built up the hole with repeated applications of super glue. I let the layers dry before adding a new coating of glue. I have found that if I build it slowly around the edges it gives a better repair. Once it was built up I over filled the hole to make sure it is well covered and the hole is no longer visible. On this particular pipe I used clear super glue because I was out of the black super glue. Both versions work exceptionally well but the black has the benefit of being the same colour as the stem and is a little less visible.

After the glue was dried I used the flat blade needle file to rework the button back into shape and give it the nice sharp edges that it should have. I sanded the stem smooth, removing the excess glue and the roughness of the glue. I went on to sand it with 400 and 600 wet dry sandpaper and a bit of water to remove the scratches left by the 240 grit paper. Then I used the full range of micromesh pads, 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000 and 6000 grit to smooth it out. As usual I had a bowl of water near at hand to dip the pads as I sanded and to wash them of the slurry that comes as I sanded. Once they were smooth and shiny, the last three grits of micromesh really do a nice job giving the stem a sheen, I took the pipe to my buffer I finished it with White Diamond polishing compound.

I have been asked in the past how long the stem patches hold up and the durability of the patch. I have no long term proof of their durability but I have had this pipe for about two years and have smoked it quite a bit and the patch shows no sign of giving way. I clean it as I would any other pipe with pipe cleaners after use and then periodically breaking it down to give it a thorough cleaning inside and out. I would say that is a pretty good track record for a patched pipe. Time will tell but in the meantime it is very smokeable and looks great in my opinion.

Rebuilding a Button on a BBB Bulldog

Reworking the button on a Perspex Stem on a GBD Prehistoric

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I was gifted this older GBD Prehistoric by a good friend who knows I like working on seeming irreparable pipes. He knows that I enjoy the challenge and that I work to get them back to a workable condition. The stem was truly a mess as can be seen from the photos below. It had bite through holes on both the top and the bottom of the stem. The button was destroyed by the bite marks. This one would prove to be a bit of a challenge. My usual method of repairing bite throughs with Super Glue would not work as the hole was on both sides of the stem. You can tell by the three pictures below the size of the hole. I included even the blurry ones to show the extent of the problem that needed to be addressed.

After carefully picking at the holes with my dental pick I could tell that the surrounding Perspex material around the holes was compromised and pieces continued to come off with very little pressure on the dental pick. It was clear then that I would have to shorten the stem back to the point on the stem where there was solid material to work with. To do this involved cutting off almost a ¼ inch of the stem. The two photos below show the stem after the material has been removed. I used my Dremel with a sanding drum on it to take back the stem to this point. Care must be exercised to keep the finished surface straight and level. But I have found that this is fairly easy to do with the Dremel set at the lowest speed.

Once the stem is cut back to the solid material a new button has to be carved. I use a series of needle files to do this. Note in the picture below the three files that I used the most. The top one is a flat rectangular one that does a great job on the top and bottom of the stem to cut a straight 90 degree edge into the Perspex. The oval and the round file I used to open the slot in the button to match the shape of the one I cut off. Once the stem has been cut the airway at the end is merely a round hole or as in this case was barely flared. I like an oval slot in the button and the files do a great job in that process. I have two sets of needle files that I use. I clean the teeth on the files with Isopropyl alcohol and a brass tire brush. It keeps them from getting clogged with the Perspex dust.

In the three pictures below you can see the button that has been cut in the stem. I also used sandpaper to thin the stem profile forward of the button to give it the proper slope and give the button some depth. Note the rough surface of the stem is caused by the use of 240 grit sandpaper to accomplish this task. The top photo is the top side of the stem at the button, the second is the underside of the stem and the bottom photo is a profile shot to show the look of the button. When the stem was at this point it still needed quite a bit of sanding to smooth out the new button and shape the stem. The edges in the profile are a bit sharp and needed to be rounded to match the part of the stem that remained untouched. I rounded the edges with the 240 grit sand paper to match the shape of the stem.

The next two photos below show the stem after that reshaping has been done. I then had to polish the stem to get it back to it clear sheen. I started that with some 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper that was used with water to give it the bite to cut through the scratches of the files and the sandpaper. The first photo shows the pipe next to another GBD Rhodesian for comparison sake. You can see in that photo how much of the Perspex stem I removed to cut the new button. The second photo shows the shaping and flow of the stem once I have finished with the polishing with the wet dry sandpaper.

The last three photos show the finished pipe. The bowl was polished and the polishing on the stem was done with the micromesh pads through the 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000 and 6000 grits soaked in water to facilitate a good polish. Each grit level of micromesh took out more of the scratching that remained after the sanding. By the 3200 grit the surface was smooth and shiny. The last two grits gave it a thorough polishing and then I finished it on the buffer with White Diamond and carnauba wax.

Patching a bite through

1 Reply

I thought I would write an article on this topic as I just finished repairing a bite through on an old London Made pipe with a vulcanite stem. It is fresh in my mind so it will be easy to write it down, plus I enjoy passing on my refurbishing processes to others to experiment with.

To begin the patching process you need to make sure the stem is clean of all oils, waxes and oxidation. You want the patch to bond well with the original stem. I have also found that any oxidation will show through the patch and leave a blemish on the stem that is cannot be removed as it is under the patch. With that in mind I removed the oxidation from the stem with repeated soaks in a tub of Oxyclean. I mix it 1 scoop to a quart of hot water. I put the lid on it and shake vigorously to mix the powder. Once it is well mixed the stem goes into the water for its first soak. I wash it off and sand or buff between soaks to remove any oxidation that is soften enough to remove it. Then it goes back into the jar for another soak. I repeat the process until the stem comes out clean.

I take it from the final wash and I sand the stem with multiple grits of sand paper to get the stem back to a matte black finish. I don’t want a sheen on the stem yet as I want a bit of roughness in order that the patch will adhere well. Once completed, I use a dental pick to clean up the area around the bite through and remove any remaining rubbish in the hole. I then used a small needle file to roughen the broken surface of the spot to prepare it for the patch.

I soak a pipe cleaner in olive oil (not dripping oily but enough to make it slick as you do not want it gurgling out the hole and messing up the part you have just cleaned. Believe me Super Glue will not stick to oily slick surfaces and it will never dry when mixed with oil.) The pipe cleaner is inserted into the button on the stem just past the bite through. This provides a block on the underside of the hole and also a non stick surface so that the glue used in the repair does not fill the airway and cause the pipe cleaner to bond to the inside of the stem.

I used clear Krazy Glue/Super Glue (you can get black Super Glue from wood working supply sites online) and did an initial fill on the hole. The idea is to get a good bond on the hole itself and not try to over fill. Once it was dry (very quickly) I sanded the surface to roughen the initial patch and then filled the hole and surrounding dent to a bit overfilled (a bubble if you can picture that). I set it aside over night and then the next morning sanded it smooth to match the surrounding surface. If the hole is large the idea is to build out toward the middle with repeated applications of the glue.

I have experimented with different drying times that are optimal for the sanding process and found that the one I stated above works the best for me. The first application is a quick dry and is sanded while the glue is not cured. The second application is hard when I sand it. I use multiple grits (400, 600) of wet dry sand paper and then microfiber sanding disks (1800, 2400, 4000) to blend the patch to the surrounding stem area and then gave the entirety a buff with red Tripoli and then white diamond. I finished the polishing with 4000 grit microfiber disk and it is virtually invisible and has formed a hard bond with the stem.

I am just an amateur refurbisher sharing how I do a patch. I am sure others here, particularly the pipe repair folks, have other methods and better ones. But this one works for me. I will try to do a photo essay on the next pipe stem I patch to show pictorially what I do.

Oh… for information sake – I have pipes that I have repaired in this manner that I have been smoking for 10 years that show no breakdown in the patch.