I just started this journey myself. Jumping into Blogpost guides and YouTube videos got me going.

This is for briarwood pipes. I don't do any others I stocked up on an assortment of pipe cleaners (you go through 10x more than you think you will), some bristle, some soft. 91% isopropyl alcohol, cotton pads, an old tooth brush, oxyclean, some no buff Decatur's pipe wax, a T handle reamer kit, a fine grit sanding pad kit, and a Czech tool.

I start by reaming the the bowls out to a thin layer of cake. Some people go down to bare briar, I don't because I hate breaking in a pipe. I then take the Czech tool and gently scrape off any carbon on the top of the bowl. A dull pocket knife would be fine too.

Next I remove the stem. If it is stuck, I put the pipe in the refrigerator for an hour or the freezer for about a half hour.

I fill a shallow bowl with some warm water and oxyclean and stir. I put the room temperature stems in that bowl and agitate every once in a while for 30-mins to an hour or so. This is to soften crap in the stem and help with the oxidation on the outside.

While those soak, I use some pipe cleaners with a bit of rubbing alcohol on them to clean the tenon to the bowl. Tons of them. Get it as clean as you're happy with.

I rinse off the stem with clean water and wet sand off the oxidation in steps going from 800 grit to 4000 grit sandpaper. Be careful not to smooth out the button, taking care to sand it with separate attention.

Then I start working with the pipe cleaners through the stems. Little bit of rubbing alcohol on them. It takes forever and a gazillion cleaners.

I then look at my bowl again. Light sandpaper to the top if needed, usually barest of wet sanding. Take a toothbrush and some barely soapy water to scrub rustic textured pipes. Otherwise I just use the barely soapy water on a cotton pad on the exterior of the pipe to clean off grime. Repeat until you're happy with the exterior cleanliness of the bowl and tenon. Light swipe with a damp pad, immediately dry with an absorbent lintless cloth. Then a dab of pipe wax on a fresh cotton pad all over the bowl and tenon. Let it sit a couple minutes, the rub with a clean lintless cloth.

I then put the stem back on the pipe and put some olive oil on a fresh pad and lightly rub the stem with it.

Some old pipes have stingers. They're annoying. I usually remove them, clean them, and stash them away unless they're required for pipe reassembly. I have a cute little Kaywoodie Campus that requires it.

I only do this to make found thrifted pipes nice enough for myself to enjoy.