Front view of tilted pipe:


*Quick Note: I don't literally leave the pipes tilted on another pipe's stem like in the picture. That was just a quick shot for display purposes. I keep them in pipe rests or Tupperware leaning up...that way if they do fall over or spill they only ruin their own finishes and not another finished pipe!

OK, so now I let the pipes set for 24-36 hours. Depending how gunked up they seem.

While that is going on, I work on the finish sanding of those stems! I am going to use some Alpha-Abrassive pads on this batch:


I start with the 3200-6000 wet sanding, and then dry off the stem and finish up with the 8000-12000 dry sanding to a shine. Not a lot to explain here. Just a lot of elbow grease and effort. You'll be amazed how much gunk this works out of the stems! If you have a buffer, you can use compounds to speed up this process, but I find it never turns out as well as hand sanding them does. If you want to re-sell or go full-blown restoration, I think this is the way to go. If you're just making a smoker, then maybe check out using a buffing wheel.

Here's the Peterson's stem after wet sanding:


And here's the whole lot after dry sanding them to a shine:


Whew! My hands are sore now! Time for a much deserved Just about one more days worth of work to go...finishing up the salt and alcohol treatment, reassembly, one last alcohol swab, and buffing up. Check back later and keep on puffin!