Cleaning a Dirty Virgin?

[simong]

I’ve got a lovely Peterson Aran, rusticated & similar to those ‘corallo di mari’ from savinelli.
Natural, virgin like finish. Starting to look a bit dirty & tired now, so she is.
I expect the solution would be wax & a high speed buffer. I haven’t got a buffer so any tips for the ‘hands only’ man?

I’ve resisted the temptation to rag on some olive oil, thinking it might worsen the appearance after drying. So far, just cleaned the pipe in soapy water with a soft toothbrush. Any tips or recommendations for a certain oil or polish?

Cheers!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If this is a virgin briar, if Peterson has made a truly virgin briar pipe, then that means that the surface was left totally bare top darken and patina with use. If you oil it with anything, that kills the process. It will then be a waxed or oiled pipe.
I mean, it's your pipe, and you can do what you like. But, some would say that the beauty in those virgin pipes is that nastiness you speak of. Soap and water would be about as aggressive as I would ever suggest. But, I wouldn't... but since you have already did...

 

[TheIronMonkey]

To clean a Corallo finish, you can use a high proof alcohol (think Everclear) and it will help strip some of the hand oils off. You can also gently brush it with a brass wire brush to remove some of the burnished grime, but, proceed slowly and very carefully with a light touch.

I would avoid using any balms or waxes—the unique, raw, unfinished state of your Aran is what sets it apart and makes it unique. A buffer will probably eliminate the detail you have on the nice texture.

Some people consider the natural soiling and burnishing a plus, akin to a Meerschaum turning brown.

 

[orlandofurioso]

I much appreciate the looks of my Castello Natural Vergin pipes and would not even dream ruining them
with an oil, balm or wax "treatment" . If you feel like protecting the briar from skin oils etc. put on white cotton
gloves when you smoke them. I kid you not ; it works for me, I started the gloves from the first time on I smoked the pipe.
Never, ever brush them with a brass wire brush, the brass will leave a residu on the briar and ruin it !!
Cleaning with food grade alcohol is perfectly fine.

 

[orlandofurioso]

I much appreciate the looks of my Castello Natural Vergin pipes and would not even dream ruining them
with an oil, balm or wax "treatment" . If you feel like protecting the briar from skin oils etc. put on white cotton
gloves when you smoke them. I kid you not ; it works for me, I started the gloves from the first time on I smoked the pipe.
Never, ever brush them with a brass wire brush, the brass will leave a residu on the briar and ruin it !!
Cleaning with food grade alcohol is perfectly fine.

Hello Smokey, where is the humor in this ?

 

[orlandofurioso]

Cleaning the rim of a bowl with a brass brush was once a sort of common practice, but I quickly learned it leaves a nasty brass residue on the briar; it is ugly and a pain to remove.
If memory serves me correctly George Dibos recently mentioned this evil in a video about regluing a fractured shank.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Hello Smokey, where is the humor in this ?

"You are a footman, and a footman wears gloves." LOL, no idea about the other guy but I'll fess up to thinking of this when I read that! And, wear gloves, don't wear gloves, no judgments here! Until this darn early winter rolled in I was normally no socks and untied tennies on the deck and soon will be wearing some sort of animal hide gloves while out smoking a pipe while winter hiking. I honestly thought about wearing gloves while using my Meer when I got it a few weeks ago, but decided (with some help from others) just to treat it like any other pipe.

 

[Peter Turbo]

I read the title too quick and thought it said something else

 

[orlandofurioso]

"You are a footman, and a footman wears gloves." LOL, no idea about the other guy but I'll fess up to thinking of this when I read that! And, wear gloves, don't wear gloves, no judgments here! Until this darn early winter rolled in I was normally no socks and untied tennies on the deck and soon will be wearing some sort of animal hide gloves while out smoking a pipe while winter hiking. I honestly thought about wearing gloves while using my Meer when I got it a few weeks ago, but decided (with some help from others) just to treat it like any other pipe.View attachment 181677

Thank you for posting Hawkeye, this is wonderful !
I watched the series, it is a treat. Actually the gloves came to me with my black Quad piano lacquered
speakers . They were included in the packing, the guy who installed them and was to wear them and did not !
So fingerprints all over anyway
I advocate wearing gloves when smoking your meers for the same reason.
The coloring developes from the inside out !

 

[orlandofurioso]

I read the title too quick and thought it said something else

There's no such thing as a dirty virgin .

 

[bassbug]

There's no such thing as a dirty virgin .

Tell that to the doctor that had to prescribe the antibiotics for me back in the 80's...........just kidding.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Talking grime ; I am cleaning a very early 18th century mallaca walking stick, it needs a new ferrule too . The seller was a perfectly fine gentleman and sold it as "typical age related darkening " or "patina" .
As I aspected it turns out to be an immense layer of accumulated dirt ; wonder how many ancient persons DNA is in it

 

[orlandofurioso]

Tell that to the doctor that had to prescribe the antibiotics for me back in the 80's...........just kidding.

Maybe you're kidding, back then I was not

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Here's a post on Reborn Pipes on how the restorer (not Steve Laug) ruined a Corallo finish, destroying the very qualities that make it a Corallo. The restorer even regrets what he has done and tries to reverse some the damage. He essentially turned a rare Corallo into a Capri. I cringed when I read the post.

 

[smokeyweb]

Hello Smokey, where is the humor in this ?

Wearing white piano gloves to smoke a pipe just to keep the finish clean seems “Fancy Nancy” to me. That is why I laughed! Are you the emoji police? Just kidding. Have a great day lol.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wearing white piano gloves to smoke a pipe just to keep the finish clean seems “Fancy Nancy” to me. That is why I laughed! Are you the emoji police? Just kidding. Have a great day lol.

Ok, NOW his comment makes sense. At first I thought he was having a split personality moment, ha ha.

 

[orlandofurioso]

Here's a post on Reborn Pipes on how the restorer (not Steve Laug) ruined a Corallo finish, destroying the very qualities that make it a Corallo. The restorer even regrets what he has done and tries to reverse some the damage. He essentially turned a rare Corallo into a Capri. I cringed when I read the post.

And so did I, heartbreaking !

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Here's a post on Reborn Pipes on how the restorer (not Steve Laug) ruined a Corallo finish, destroying the very qualities that make it a Corallo. The restorer even regrets what he has done and tries to reverse some the damage. He essentially turned a rare Corallo into a Capri. I cringed when I read the post.

*Correction: some the = some of the

I will add I have used a brass wire brush, but, only on the darkest, burnished portions to gently remove the compressed gunk. Everclear for the rest.

 

[bullet08]

One of the reasons I don't buy natural finish any more. Natural finish without some sort of coating gets "muddy". I wouldn't use oil. Nor wax. That might lock in the current look permanently. Or make it dirtier.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have a Paulo Becker strawberry briar with a natural finish. I just use a soft toothbrush and water every now and then, but I never want to get rid of the patina altogether. I really like how the discoloration around the rim works its way down the pipe. It cost a lot of money for that design, and I don't want to F it up. Just a little light brushing under water once a year or so. I don't even want to remove all of the cake off of the rim. The whole point of having a pipe like that is to let it live and be alive, changing as it is used.