Salt & Alcohol Soak Treatment

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Sep 15, 2019
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Does salt alcohol soak treatment remove all cake to wood or need to ream to wood or do a few retorts ?

Bought a used pipe intensely thick cake - reamed as much as possible still cake - then swab bowl using whole bag of pipe cleaners with alcohol after continuous bouts of reaming still deep intense black on all cleaners -

Would a salt alcohol treatment remove the cake to wood or do i need a retort - reaming for about a six hours still some cake & pipe cleaners with alcohol are still extremely black when i swab the bowl -
I think the owner smoked something else in this pipe if you know what I mean !
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,858
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
would a salt alcohol treatment remove the cake to wood or do i need a retort
Neither will remove a cake. They may soften some of it up a little, but essentially you need to scrape, sand, or ream it out. The retort is good for pulling out rancid oils that the SA method sometimes fails to do, but you need to be very careful with the retort lest you wind up a burn statistic.
 
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acidpox

Can't Leave
Nov 18, 2018
460
317
I dont own a reamer but have cleaned up about 10 or so used pipes. I just use a dullish pocket knife to remove the cake then a very light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper then alchohol and salt treatment. Gets in back to wood or damn near close for me. Just be careful with the knife so you dont damage the wood.
 
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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
Always ream the pipe first, then do the alcohol treatment. You want the alcohol to leach the wood and there is no point in going through a layer of cake to do so.
 
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gatorlope

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 5, 2019
503
196
South Florida
Virtually all of my briar pipes are estate pipes and I’be always cleaned the mouthpiece thoroughly with alcohol.
I’ve reamed them as well, if the cake was thick, but always left some because I felt that it protects the briar underneath.
Is there really any advantage to scraping them all the way down to the wood? Or in soaking them in some solution to loosen it up?
 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
Personally, I like to build my own cake. It doesn't harm to take it down to the wood unless you gouge the wood. Some guys here rise their pipes under warm water and that should help loosen it up.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,256
108,360
Do a Diet Coke soak overnight instead of alcohol. The cake can be popped out with a butter knife.
 

unadoptedlamp

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 19, 2014
742
1,368
After reaming out the cake, try dish soap and water. I use Seventh Generation dish soap on my pipes and haven't had a problem for years.

They never have a ghost and it's the most effective way I've found to clean my pipes. I don't scrub the finish, but have also never had a problem there either. You'll want a tiny bit of mineral oil for the finish after a lot of water.

Those alcohol retorts are crazy, in my opinion. Soap and water will do the same or better job and you'll not risk being a burn victim.
 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,322
11,090
Maryland
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I bought a retort, used it a few times and then discarded it.

I ream the cake, then use some 320 sandpaper to get close to the original bowl wood, then the soak with alcohol and sea salt. Getting the shank cleaned is equally important.
 

unadoptedlamp

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 19, 2014
742
1,368
Pipe brands I regularly clean with soap and water:

Tom Eltang
Sara Eltang
Dunhill
I Baglan meerschaum
IMP meerschaum
Tsuge
Peterson (a $600 silver job with amber stem)
Rinaldo

I may well be the first, so I understand the skepticism and outright dismissal, but I put all of those pipes on the line that it works, which is a considerable wager.

Alcohol is a thing of the past for me, and my pipes have dramatically improved in cleanliness for it.

There is nothing like a good scrub with soap and water to break up oils, bacteria, and whatever other junk lurks in a pipe.

Soap was designed for this purpose. It's why your frying pan comes out shiny after cooking a mess of bacon.

Flushing out all that crud from a pipe with clean water and more suds has been far more superior to anything else in my cleaning regimen.

Trusted by kitchens and surgeons the world over! And more than adequate for my pipes...
 
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pipesticks

Can't Leave
Jun 29, 2016
336
9
Chicago
I use different reamers and knives and then sandpaper to remove stubborn cake on estate pipes. I use salt/alcohol to remove oils and tastes (ghosts) but it doesn't always work on removing the ghosts. Somewhere on the forum, I read about using used wet coffee grounds instead of salt/alcohol treatment.
I'll let it sit on a sunny window ledge for days until it completely dries out the coffee grounds. It works for me.
 
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