A soak in Clorox does wonders but it will also fur up the finish so it'll need subsequent buffing and polishing - it may also remove inked imprints or, at least, make them VERY white.

Woodworking supply joints sell a very cloth-like fabric backed polishing cloth called Micro Mesh. Wet sanding consecutively with 1500/2400/3600/6000/8000/12000 grits will take the worst looking vulcanite to wet-glass finish. It is pretty quick - maybe 20-30 minutes to hand sand crap into perfection.

If you don't have a LOW (I mean, low) speed buffer with small soft flannel wheels don't bother with a benchgrinder cause they will, sooner or later, tear up a nice pipe - trust me on that; if you have a lathe they can be made into great pipe buffers. After fine wet sanding, buff with Tripoli and finish with White Diamond compound.

Absent powered equipment, you cannot beat a little bleach and Micro Mesh in my opinion. So far.

Latest Micro Mesh job with a little wax to finish (last night):

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Nice looking restore there M'Mo'...Need to do a restore job myself on an old pipe I've got.
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Damn Moo....that pipe turned out nice
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Well... it did! Nobody was more surprised than I was!
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Excellent restor job on the pipe Dan...:-)
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Hey M'Mo', how long does one of those Micro Mesh kits last. If you just plan on polishing pipe stems?? Also is pipe stem polish worth picking up?

Also, I've got an old nasty stem. I've soaked her in Oxy Clean and scrub her to high hell with a magic eraser, but looks flat and dull. I read somewhere you can polish with Olive Oil. After I put the olive oil on the stem it looks fine, but once I rub it away it goes back to dull town. Need some guidance here.
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Is Squadron Leader still available? It seems to be out of stock everywhere I look?
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Short of making/buying a proper low speed buffing wheel Micro Mesh is unbeatable to take any stem from scars to stars. I bought a sample set (6"x6" approx pieces from 1200-12,000) a couple of years ago. It lasts a long time big guy. Absent a sub-1000rpm wheel (and Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba) MMesh, a sink and a little patience is the real deal. IMO.
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Bulk is coming and going - here's 450g http://www.cupojoes.com/cgi-bin/dept...h=DF&tier2=68;
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I ran out of matches.... so grabbed my ST Dupont torch lighter....

ummm.... any suggestions on how to get the black off the rim of my pipe or is it burned beyond repair??
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Just take a q - tip and wet it with saliva and use it to wipe down the rim of the pipe. This is what I do. I usually do it when I clean my pipes. If the rim charring is bad, you may need a few q-tips...
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http://micro-surface.com/index.php?m...products_id=87

Micro-Mesh™ Regular, 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, 12000 - 9 sheets total, 1 per grade. Primary Use: Softer wood, plastics, paint

something like above - $21 and change depending on where you buy it - does it all and lasts a long time. The abrasive is on a cloth/foam backing and is quite flexible when working in tight spots; wet sand and rinse often and, when done, leave clean paper out to dry for later use.
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Not sure if this has been asked before, but I'll give it another shot:

What qualifies an aromatic blend as an aromatic? For example, Butternut Burley is burley tobacco, with a topping. Is it an aromatic? Is it a Burley? Is it and aromatic burley?
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Here is a good read if ya get some time MJ. http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Pipe_Tobaccos

I might have to pop a tin of of BB tonight and revisit it.
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Thanks!
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So anything with out a plain black stem kind of gets my attention these days. I almost picked up an estate pipe with a clear acrylic stem. Has anyone seen any odd things happen using the salt/alcohol treatments with acrylic or lucite? Lucite I figure is no big deal but it would kind of suck to melt or cloud a clear acrylic stem.

On a side note how do you guys get rid of the burnt rubber vulcanite skank smell? Seems no matter what I do it keeps a funk.

Oh and howdy it has been awhile =D

Chris
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Not sure how salt and alcohol figures in with stems, B'oo; I only treat briar with salt and booze.

To destinkify a vulcanite stem (my fave) I use bristle pipe cleaners dipped in Everclear for the inside and clean the exterior back to shiny black with MicroMesh; if you have a for real low speed buffer, buff with Tripoli, White Diamond and polish with carnauba).
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So a usual alch swabbing should remove the burnt rubber funk?

Ok TY Moo
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Well, maybe. It depends on how funky the outside is. When vulcanite oxidizes it does get funky.

Stem in post #481 above was funky inside and out....
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I have a Boswell pipe with a acrylic stem that is anything but black. As others said, no salt treatment on the stem. I just take a bristled pipe cleaner, soak it in some rum and scrub that SOB till theres no gunk. I run a pipe cleaner through it, let it dry then give it a practice sip and if there is still a funky taste I just run a few more booze soaked cleaners through the stem...
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