How Do You Clean A Vulcanite Pipe Stem?

 Over the years, I have read and heard of people using toothpaste to remove the oxidation from the pipes shafts. When it comes to heirloom pipes, one of the biggest deterrents is the severely oxidized, hard vulcanite or rubber, stems. Acrylic stems are harder and easier to clean than vulcanite stems, which are being phased out in favor of the newer materials. There are two basic types of materials used in tube stems: vulcanite (ebonite or hard rubber) and Lucite (acrylic). 

Automotive Polishing Compounds Others used automotive polishing compounds and rubbed them heavily on stem materials to eliminate oxidation. Others have not used a pre-soak, but used various types of stem polishes or cleaners to remove the oxidation. This does indeed leave your stem chemically cleaned, allowing it to quickly oxidize. 

You can see clearly the soak has oxidized the exterior, but you cannot tell how much of the stems airways are already oxidized. Pull through the stem with a pipe cleaner dipped into cognac or whiskey, which will soften the flavor of the chlorine, if you get any. 

Find a glass that holds all of the stem The whole stem, put the stem in, and then top up the glass with chlorine. Very gently, and using 1,000-grit paper or higher, smooth out the whole stem until it is smooth to the touch. Do not sand the tuners (the bits that attach the stems to a stommel), because this will just loosen the stems on your pipes. Avoid touching the stem with a bare finger at all costs after you have cleaned it. 

First, remove the stem from the tube, then insert a pipe cleaner in the stem, such that it only goes as far as the tenon ends (this is so that you are not collapsing air holes). What is nice is a little swab with a pipe cleaner, and the airhole is just as clean as the stem from the new bore. I even dipped the pipe cleaners into mineral oil and ran it down the stem to clear out the airway. Once the Goo Gone was dry, I then sanded down the stems to remove any softened oxidation. 

Soak the stems in OxyClean and hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour, and then remove the softened oxidation with Micromesh pads. Once I have removed all of the oxidizer, I then use the Fine Polishing compound to return the stems to high gloss. If there are any stubborn or heavy spots of oxidation, I coat only the vulcanized portion of the stem with the bleach-free SoftScrub (the bleach-free part is important because bleach can etch vulcanize more quickly than Oxyclean) and leave it to soak in for 15 minutes. 

Using a soft cloth, scrub the deoxidizer/cleaner onto the vulcanite stem until it feels smooth. You may also wish to thoroughly scrub your stems drafting holes, occasionally wiping them down with a scrubbing brushpipecleaner that is been dipped in alcohol or pipe sweetener. Mark Hoover has also developed a slick, ultra-fine Polish, and Restoration Balm which works great on the pipe stem. 

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