Pipe Polishing Advice Needed

tarak · Apr 28, 2015

Hello all. About a year or so ago, I bought a block of carnuba to attempt to polish my pipes....and was wholly unsuccessful. A cloudy dulled film was my best result, bits of white wax stuck all over my rusticated pipes was my worst.
I switched over to using Halcyon Wax and buffing by hand....that does get some shine back into my pipes that started with a good finish, but some of the estates that I purchased just don't "come back to life" with the Halcyon.
I'm looking for some specific tips, videos, tutorials, etc on pipe polishing. I'd like to re-explore Carnuba or other polishes again. I have a low speed buffer via a drill press with buffing wheel, and a polishing wheel on a bench top grinder at my disposal.

zack24 · Apr 28, 2015

If you're buffing rusticated or sandblasted pipes, you might try a rotating horsehair brush and the halcyon wax.
Here's a link... http://www.torringtonbrushes.com/horsehair-copper-center-wheel-brushes.html You'll probably want to get 3 of them and stack them on an arbor to get enough width...
The polishing wheel on a bench grinder is too fast for a wax application- ideal would be around 600rpm...

danielplainview · Apr 28, 2015

The key to buffing with carnauba: Less is more. Use a screwdriver or something flat while the buffing wheel is spinning, and touch it to edge, moving left to right. This fluffs the fabric and unloads the old dried crud on the surface. With the wheel spinning, lightly touch the carnauba block to the edge for a split second. Too much wax is why your pipes look splotchy. Apply incrementally. I usually go three rounds with a light application of wax. Use a light touch when contacting the briar to the wheel. Never press it hard enough to bog down the motor.

tarak · Apr 28, 2015

I felt like no carnuba was getting loaded in the wheel unless I really dig in there. Mo heard something about needing a buffer faster enough to heat the carnuba to actually melt.

ssjones · Apr 28, 2015

In my opinion, Carnuba wax does little if anything to polish a finish. In fact to "polish" actually means to remove scratches so light is reflected better. Less scratches equals more shine. (this applies to paint, briar, or metal). Carnuba wax won't remove scratches and improve the shine, it only protects the finish.
To "polish", you need something with an abrasive quality, like White Diamond rouge. That works out scratches and other imperfections. Then, you apply wax to protect the finish. Similar to a car's painted finish. Although many car waxes also contain a "cleaning" compound to do both. Real finish pro's polish the paint, than wax it, using different materials. Wood guys using every increasinly fine levels of paper before applying a wax or other finish to protect the shine. Of course White Diamond will also erase nomenclature and stem logos, so proceed with care.

ejames · Apr 29, 2015

I felt like no carnuba was getting loaded in the wheel unless I really dig in there. Mo heard something about needing a buffer faster enough to heat the carnuba to actually melt.

Do it as Daniel P. said and you might learn how to put on a super nice finish like he does. Although I haven't used them (yet) for waxing I have used horse hair brushes for cleaning rusticated pipe and they work pretty darn good. I'm sure they do work great for waxing like Zach says,he makes some very nice pipes.
When you used carnuba,did you use a second clean wheel to shine up the pipe after applying the wax? Although not absolutely necessary using a second wheel makes it easier to get a nice shine.

menuhin · Apr 29, 2015

There are usually at least 2 wheels. I have done polishing for a few times only under supervision of a tobacconist, it is the wheel that have a tiny bit of white diamond or other super fine abrasive material that cleans and shines up my dull looking pipes, and the wheel with a tiny bit of carnauba wax makes them super shiny.

zack24 · Apr 29, 2015

heard something about needing a buffer faster enough to heat the carnuba to actually melt.

I use a 8" wheel at 1720- a little too fast, but it works. When I load the wheel, I just brush the Carnauba across the face of he wheel- contact is light and takes less than a second. You will not see the Carnauba melt or otherwise rub off on the wheel...but it's there.

tarak · Apr 29, 2015

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I probably superloaded the wheel with wax because I pressed that bar until gouges came out of it. Woops.
Thanks for the input- Looks like I have somethings I can try. I have some less valuable pipes I can give it a whirl on.

brass · Apr 29, 2015

The more I read of pipe making and maintenance, the more it sames that I would need a small wood shop with bench to really be productive/

ssjones · Apr 29, 2015

I just have one little spot on my garage workshop bench. I put details of my pipe station here. I share space with my garage work, but I only need a foot or so of workbench space.

http://rebornpipes.com/2013/08/19/my-buffing-motor-setup/

stvalentine · Apr 29, 2015

The more I read of pipe making and maintenance, the more it sames that I would need a small wood shop with bench to really be productive/

Definitely not! Some people work only with hand tools and produce very nice and shiny results. If you´re lazy like me a handdrill, drillpress or cheap bench buffer will do nicely. Invest in quality wheels if you use a bench buffer. The rest is just technique: Don´t use too much wax, don´t press to hard and don´t let the buffer rip the pipe off your hands!

It is not possible to polish and shine a rough surface. Use sandpaper or other media from coarse to fine before polishing.

Pipe restauration is a very straightforward process with many different ways that will lead to success. No secrets are involved. Just practise on worn out and expendable pipes first.

menuhin · Apr 29, 2015

...It is not possible to polish and shine a rough surface. Use sandpaper or other media from coarse to fine before polishing....

This is exactly what I was thinking and therefore I mention white diamond. But before that I used 1200 and 2500 sandpaper and finer material to polish the briar surface before and after re-stain. I am a perfectionist and I use only hand tools, so almost every time my fingers were left with blisters and blood... But the final results were all very shiny after the buffing wheels.

cigrmaster · Apr 29, 2015

If I want a pipe polished I make Zack do it as I am totally lame when it comes to that stuff. Get your self a slave like Zack and you will have no worries.

menuhin · Apr 30, 2015

@cigrmaster
There are people who aspire to achieve in fields which are not their professions, especially in the case of their hobbies. So there are 'hobby pipe' kits out there. :wink:

I would say when G. L. Pease visited Tom Eltang, he could have all the work from start to finish just done by Eltang, but he felt it would be so special to have a pipe made by himself under Eltang's supervision. Of course at the end if the pipe was stamped just Pease, it would not be as special as Pease & Eltang.

zack24 · Apr 30, 2015

If I want a pipe polished I make Zack do it

...my goal in life- to be Harris's pipe b*tch...

. I always know I'm in trouble when after dinner and a couple of drinks, Harris will pull out his latest treasure and ask if I can thin the bit "just a little" so it's more comfy on his dentures... :nana:

ejames · Apr 30, 2015

...my goal in life- to be Harris's pipe b*tch.... I always know I'm in trouble when after dinner and a couple of drinks, Harris will pull out his latest treasure and ask if I can thin the bit "just a little" so it's more comfy on his dentures... [:nana:]

Dentures? He should do what I do--take the damn things out and put 'em in a glass-- and then smoke! No problems--thick stem or not! :lol:

Pipe Polishing Advice Needed

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