First Estate Restoration.. Need help!

youngsterpuffer · Apr 4, 2014

I need help with some my first estate purchase. What I have here is an old grabow riviera (no idea what year, but it doesnt have a plastic stem and it is adjustomatic) and I was hoping you guys could help me with some tips about restoring it. First of all it has a decent cake built up around the top third of the bowl then it tapers off as it reaches the bottom. What do I do about reaming it back some? Can I do that with a czech tool? and second, how do I clean off one of these stems and the bowl? it feels sorta gritty, almost like it was just sanded with a really rough paper. Any tips?

teufelhund · Apr 4, 2014

They make a tool you can use for more uniform reaming, but you can use a knife. I don't think a Czech tool would cut it. As for as the roughness; it's probably just general wear. Wipe it down and polish it and add a little wax to keep the lustre and protect it. Lots of people recommend oxyclean to get oxidation to the surface on stems and just use micromesh or a magic eraser to clear that off and polish it up. I also recommend sterilizing with high proof alcohol the shank and inside the stem. If your favorite tobacco taste a bit funny. Try a salt/alcohol treatment on the bowl to de-ghost. Good luck to you.

goldsm · Apr 4, 2014

You can check the youtube. There is lots of video about pipe cleanning.

ejames · Apr 4, 2014

Don't see many Ajustomatic Riviera's. I'd guess that pipe is from the 1970's or earlier. For reaming,pick up a Castleford reamer set. They're cheap and work well.Best not to ream down to bare wood IMO. The roughness on the stem may be due to the fact that it is heavily oxidized. You can try a Magic Eraser,but it will take a lot of elbow grease to get that stem black again.

Easiest way (IMO) is to wet sand the stem starting with 400 grit and working up to 800 or 1000 and finish up with some Micro Mesh,starting with the the 3200 and work up.

You can bleach that stem( before sanding) but you have to be very careful of the aluminum tenon. I pack the tenon full and completely cover it with Vaseline. Oxy-clean is another option,but doesn't(IMO) work as well as the bleach.

The tenon also must be protected if you use Oxy-clean.

Rinse well and scrub out the inside with warm soapy water and a pipe cleaner after bleaching or using the Oxy-Clean.

ssjones · Apr 4, 2014

I basically use ejames approach, simple but effective.
Here's a restoration on a Comoys bulldog that shows the Castleford reamer in use and general stem cleaning.
http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/refurbishing-a-comoys-tradition-shape-4-bulldog/

youngsterpuffer · Apr 5, 2014

Thanks guys. I sanded the stem with 400 grit and bathed it in Bacardi 151 to get it cleared out, looks a little better but I have some work to go. This bowl is tricky. The cake feels like cement and I tried realing a little out and it looked like it was gonna take a chunk out so I left it alone for now. At least till I get a tool.

halfy · Apr 5, 2014

Just retort, try to search for the retort method.
use paper towel and pipe cleaners in between to remove everything removable. the cake would become soft and wiped off. then you get to the clean bare wood ghost free.

brudnod · Apr 8, 2014

This may sound drastic but when the bowl is REALLY grungy I use dish washing liquid and a scrubbing pad (for scratch-free uses) and just wash it to get the grime off. You are left with a surface that is dull but much lighter and the grain will come out better. You can then sand it with increasing grit sand paper and finish it with several layers of carnauba wax. Much brighter appearance; no longer grungy.

halfy · Apr 14, 2014

WATER washing is killing a pipe IMO ...

brudnod · Apr 14, 2014

Why do you say that?

halfy · Apr 14, 2014

Sorry I think the word washing terrified me :P
Sounds like dipping in a ocean ...

ejames · Apr 15, 2014

I know a Gent who has been known to throw grungy bowls in a sink of warm soapy water! As long as it is allowed to dry out completely the water will not damage the pipe. Might raise the grain and give it a dull appearance.

I have scrubbed many nasty bowls,especially rusticated bowls with Murphy's Oil soap and water using a toothbrush,holding the bowl facing down so little water gets in the bowl. The foam type earplugs are great for plugging the shank.

brudnod · Apr 15, 2014

I usually stuff the bowel with Saran Wrap and the shank with, as ejames remarks, foam ear plugs. I add salt to the water to reduce the possibility of an osmolar gradient on the pipe surface. Although this is not an every pipe but when restoring a pipe the cleanup includes removing as much grunge as possible...

ejames · Apr 15, 2014

osmolar gradient--huh? 8O

brudnod · Apr 15, 2014

OK, so the salt content of one compartment is in contact with the salt content of the adjacent compartment. If the first compartment has a higher salinity compared to the second, the aqueous (water) phase will move from the second to the first to compensate for the higher salinity. To keep the salt level even so there is no shift, the salt needs to be equal...

ejames · Apr 15, 2014

uh-ok... :?

First Estate Restoration.. Need help!

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