Paragon Wax

I'm interested to know as well. How long will that shine last before you gotta give it another coat? I used to use Chapstick which puts a nice shine and brings out the grain, but it only lasts for a short time. I used to use my dremel with carnauba wax but can't get an even coat on my bowl. I need to upgrade my situation.

I use a somewhat thicker coat of Paragon and then instead of a cloth I use a shoe brush to shine it. Takes a bit of effort to deal with the thicker layer but it shines well enough and seems to last a goodly number of months.

I've been using the stuff for a couple of years now. Several very thin coats are better than a thick one. Too much wax and it becomes a bit gummy, which does not go away. I get my best results by avoiding cloths of any sort.
I scoop a tiny amount of the wax onto a fingertip and rub it onto the pipe and stem, letting the polish coat my fingertips as well. After giving the polish a couple of minutes to set up I rub the pipe in my hands, allowing the particles of polish to rub against itself. Always gives me a glass like sheen with no need for several coats. The last traces of a fingerprint I'll gently rub off with a soft cloth. A little of this goes a very long way, and the sheen lasts for months. Cloths don't come anywhere near to giving the level of gloss that I get from this technique.

Guys:
Paragon is only meant for smooth finishes. If you have any blasting or rustication on your burners use his Halcyon II. The HII will still work well on smooth bowl pipes but, remember, a little bit goes a long, long way. (A little being match head little.)
Fnord

I use both of these waxs on the relevant pipes and the finish is superb, especially if the last rub is with a silicon cloth. I repeat every few months and the accumulated shine is very satisfying. I'll be giving sable's method a go now to see how it looks. One great aspect is that the finish is also very tough.
Andy

Fantastic positive comments, I'm sold. I'll be throwing that in on the next order. Thanks guys.

With highly rusticated or blasted pipes. I apply a tiny amount of the polish to the palm of one hand, spread it out a bit, then rub the pipe with the polish. This keeps the polish from building up in crevices where it gets opaque when dry.

Avoid getting a heavy build up, because it will get gummy.

Ok, so I'm assuming I can indeed use multiple thin coats to achieve a higher gloss finish.

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You can, though you may not need to use multiple coats to get that high gloss surface. If you go the multiple coating route, give each coating time to dry out thoroughly before applying another coat. And, use the absolute minimum, which for an average 5" billiard, is enough to barely coat the tip of your pinkie. Then work it in and rub it out in your hands. Too much polish in too much of a hurry, and you will wind up with a gummy surface.

Sable:
Do you use Paragon on your blast and rusticated burners?
With your technique I'm sure it would be fine. Most of us are probably too ham-fisted and impatient. Lord knows I am.
Fnord

Use the partner product - Halcyon II - for rusticated and blasted bowls. I use a toothbrush to get into all the tips and wrinkles without leaving residue. Then buff.
Andy

Another product that might be considered is Renaissance Wax. It was developed by the British Museum and is used by museums all over the world. It's a micro-crystalline wax that is very high quality, hand buffs to a nice high gloss and can be had for around $20 for a 7 oz jar making it MUCH more cost effective per ounce than the micro-crystalline waxes that are marketed specifically for pipes, while basically being the same stuff. I learned about it from a GL Pease article I read and I've found that just 3 or 4 thin coats (well cured between coats as sablebrush52 advises) yields an incredible finish.
I've also tried the Fiebing's Carnauba Creme. While this stuff definitely works, it's basically thinned carnauba that is hand workable. I've found that it's been thinned to the point that it requires a lot more coats to get good results so prefer the Renaissance over the Carnauba Creme.

NOW you tell me @torque after I just spent $9 on the 1 oz jar of Paragon. Lol.

@ Fnord - I don't use Paragon on my rusticated pipes, though given the way I apply it, it might work out fine. I'll have to give that a try when I'm in an experimenting mood.
@ cmdrmcbragg - The Paragon and Halcyon products are next generation versions of Renaissance. They're all micro-crystalline polishes based on the British Museum concoction. That's why the hand rubbing application works better than a cloth. The micro-crystals are directly rubbing and polishing each other. BTW, my hands get pretty glossy too! But soap and water takes care of that.

@sablebrush, I am pretty excited to try it out. If that works out well I may be offering up a big hunk of carnauba wax soon.

I have used it on my unfinished smooth briars as a protectant and just out of curiosity. I was quite surprised and pleased at how they looked and felt afterwards.

NOW you tell me @torque after I just spent $9 on the 1 oz jar of Paragon. Lol.

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LOL, sorry about that, I posted as soon as I saw the thread. I'm sure you will be pleased with the results you get and that's not to say the product isn't worth the price. I read a lot of good things about both paragon and halcyon 2. My post was meant to bring awareness that there are other products out there to consider, not to try and pull anyone away from Paragon or Halcyon. Actually I'm thinking of trying the halcyon on a rusticated pipe to see how effective it is at getting me off q-tip duty. As far as one being "better" than the other, I don't know. I don't really think any of us can "know" without a lot of speculation. Personally I'm not going to get the OUTSIDE surface of my pipe to 200 ⁰F to find out. I think there can be degrees of "better" and at some point any improvement fails to have an appreciable impact. The old argument of high-end sports car vs super high-end sports car.
I will say this though. I've waxed pipes and other wooden objects with carnauba and also with micro wax and there is a definite difference in the shine. Carnauba buffs up to a very bright shine while Renaissance (and I can only assume other brands of microcrystalline waxes) buff to more of a satin sheen. If the brighter shine is your preference then the microcrystalline/carnauba hybrid mixes will probably be more to your liking I suspect. Personally I like both looks and it really depends on the color of the wood as to which I prefer.