Slight oxidation problem?

[Richard Burley]

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[Buckshot]

It's really butterscotch. :lol:

 

[plumbernater]

Thats the way I like to get them. I look for the estate pipe that needs the tinder loving care that nobody wants. Now a days they are far and few. I like to work the stem over with 0000 steal wool then polish her up with some wax. This millinium peterson was like yours when I got her.

 

[George Kaplan]

Ha!... I saw that on ebay this morning and thought it was some kinda special edition ivory-colored stem. Then I saw the underside where it's more of a light olive. Looks like it was living on a window sill for a few years.

 

[monbla256]

I have a shell blasted Charatan pot that has a bit with the same level of oxidation as that one. I had it sanded and polished and it looked good for a few months then started fading back to the oxidized color. I had left it "lost" in a pick-up glove box for over a year in the Texas heat and I think it set the oxidation such that I have had a new handcut ebonite stem made for it to replace the original which would not stay polished and black. I think once a certain level of oxidation happens there is no going back. It looks like it is a Deluxe Pete so you could get a new bit from Peterson JMHO

 

[Blackhorse]

I thought all the Pete stems that color were supposed to be acrylic! Is that acrylic? I've never heard of that material oxidizing...only the ebonite and vulcanite stems. WTF!

 

[ruta2]

Maybe it's just me, but a light-colored stem on that pipe doesn't look half bad. (Okay, so it's the top half, but that's not my point. )

 

[Blackhorse]

OMG! You mean that's a vulcanite stem...that turned that color?!?!?


That makes the comment on the sale site that it's been 'lightly used' kind of a joke. A very bad joke.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

In all honesty I've legitimately seen pipes that were brand new, and unsmoked, that had stems that color at yard sales. Granted, with typical human idiocy and the use of eBay to determine "what something is worth," these same pipes apparently not only go for similar new, but because they're "old," obviously a 60% premium (price non-negotiable) follows. :roll:

The sulfur in the rubber eventually goes through chemical changes when exposed to UV or certain conditions (acidic mouths...?) ...and the pipes I saw that were genuinely unsmoked that looked like this just had the winter sun hitting them in a glass case or display stand near a window.

Even when I tell the people what it would take to restore them, and possibly to be forgiving of the price, they recoil in terror and explain to me that getting rid of the "patina," would ruin the collectable value of such an antique. At first I would explain I wanted to smoke them, and was even told they wouldn't sell them to me since I wanted to "ruin them." No joke.

Missed out on some very nice "$200" Savinelli pipes, I guess.

Wheeeeeeee!

8)

 

[riff raff]

I'm with Plumbernator, that is an ebay winner in my book! Other than oxidized, that stem looks mint!

I bought this Comoys Pot for $18 delivered with this stem:



An hour or so of work yielded this result:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

You can get 'em that shiny in an hour? What's your method, Riff Raff?

 

[riff raff]

You can get 'em that shiny in an hour? What's your method, Riff Raff?

I used to soak in Oxyclean, but was never convinced that did much, so now I usually forgo that step.
Wet Sandpaper: 1500>2000
Micromesh: Final four grades 6k, 8k, 10, 12k
Buff with Megiuars Plastic polish on a wheel.

An older Comoys, with the 3-drilled C logo is a snap because you can't harm that logo (unlike Chartans, Upshalls, that have stamped logos to preserve). So, just sand away till she shines.

This one, a little more work and probably took me at least 3 hours on the stem alone. Those "chairleg" features almost broke my will, but I stayed the course and came out with a great looking and smoking pipe.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Oh okay, sheesh I figured I was making life harder on myself by going 500, 1000, 1200, 2000 and using blue jeweler's polish, finally, carnauba. The plastic polish is intriguing, though. I managed to take off too much material on one pipe at one point, and though it did well, the stem doesn't match up quite as nicely anymore. Lesson learned.

8)

 

[williamcharles]

I used to soak in Oxyclean, but was never convinced that did much, so now I usually forgo that step.

You're probably right about the Oxyclean not doing much. I've read of people doing an overnight soak. On the Oxyclean tub near the top it says to use the Oxyclean within six (6) hours of mixing. The stuff stops working after six hours! For an overnight soak to do any good you'd have to use 3-4 fresh batches of the stuff, depending on how long you consider overnight.

You do a great job with your method. Those fancy stems are killers, especially on arthritic hands. I hope your not cursed with those.

 

[riff raff]

I used to soak in Oxyclean, but was never convinced that did much, so now I usually forgo that step.

You're probably right about the Oxyclean not doing much. I've read of people doing an overnight soak. On the Oxyclean tub near the top it says to use the Oxyclean within six (6) hours of mixing. The stuff stops working after six hours! For an overnight soak to do any good you'd have to use 3-4 fresh batches of the stuff, depending on how long you consider overnight.

You do a great job with your method. Those fancy stems are killers, especially on arthritic hands. I hope your not cursed with those.

Double Comfort Charatan stems are also an SOB. I seem to prefer saddle stems, which is one more crease to sand. No arthritis yet, thankfully.....

 

[Cigar2you]

Riff raff I have an old oom Paul I bringing to your house to learn your method on

 

[riff raff]

Riff raff I have an old oom Paul I bringing to your house to learn your method on

Bring it up, I'll give it my best shot. I'm just up the road in Hagerstown.

 

[Cigar2you]

Riff raff I have an old oom Paul I bringing to your house to learn your method on

Bring it up, I'll give it my best shot. I'm just up the road in Hagerstown.

Being so close we do need to get together someday if for nothing else to share a bowl

 

[riff raff]

Riff raff I have an old oom Paul I bringing to your house to learn your method on

Bring it up, I'll give it my best shot. I'm just up the road in Hagerstown.

Being so close we do need to get together someday if for nothing else to share a bowl

Come up on a nice warm day/evening, we'll do your pipe and enjoy some tobacco on the back porch (of course we can smoke in the workshop/garage as well). PM me if you have some dates, etc.

 

[Blackhorse]

Taking off oxidation to me means 400 or 600 to start, 0000 steel wool, DeniCare brown gunk on a felt wheel, white rouge on a felt wheel and then carnuba on a soft cloth wheel. The DeniCare is always...and the white rouge is sometimes applied via a dremel. The large wheel for the white rouge is a 6" and the wheel for the carnuba is a 4". Since I only have a 6" fast buffer...I slow it down by using a smaller wheel.

I have no idea how I worked myself into that routine, it just happened over time.


BTW: does anyone know a formula for calculating the speed of a buffing wheel (need to vary the diameter of the wheel) at the surface...given the shaft RPM?