Removing A Cigarette Burn Mark

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mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,292
23,323
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hi guys, I'm looking to fix up a nice little Dunhill I picked up a while ago. In a previous thread I menti8med I feared this was a burn out in progress, but was assured that this was a cigarette burn, I guess someone placed a lit one too close to the bowl?
Anyway, is there a way to remove the burn without re-doing the whole pipe? I thought I would ask first but I'm guessing that the entire bowl needs to be refinished.
Thanks experts!
p_20181019_143029-600x450.jpg

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Sep 18, 2015
3,253
41,957
IMO it’s time for a complete refurbish, someone who works with stain on a daily basis, has a ton of experience AND is actually good at it could make it presentable. It would be easier,faster and look a lot better to strip and refinish the whole thing.

 
Wow, how long would you have to hold a cigarette next top the bowl to get it to burn like that? I mean, carpet and shirts is one thing, but that would have to be one hot cig left resting on the bowl to do that. One of the qualities of briar that makes it great for smoking is that it doesn't burn easily.

It looks more like someone laid down their blowtorch carelessly next to their pipe. :puffy:

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,068
Carmel Valley, CA
I imagine it happened in an ashtray. Either the piper was careless, or the ciggie smoker or both. Ugh. Too bad it happened.

 
Hmmm, I have a briar ashtray that I set my cigars down in, and it has never burned the briar. Do you really think a cigarette could do that? I'm just thinking that even after smoking one bowl in my pipes, the inside of the pipe isn't charred, especially not that much. It always cakes over, before charring. I just find it hard to believe that a little cigarette could do that, even if it set on there all day.

 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,413
In the sticks in Mississippi
I've found that these type of burns go deeper than you think. You can try sanding lightly on the spot and see if any comes off. But then you're pretty much committed to refinishing the whole pipe. The easy way would be to try to sand the spot and the area around it trying not to change the shape of the bowl, and then re-stain the pipe a darker color to hide it. Also check on Reborn Pipes website to see what info they might be able to furnish. Good luck!
Example of a Savinelli with burns I redid:

s-l16001-600x349.jpg

Here is the end result, I had to take off quite a bit of briar but at least it had plenty to spare:

img_000112-600x383.jpg


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georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 27, 2018
270
24
This is only speculation, but the shape of the burn suggests something more like an electric stove-top burner than a cigarette.

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,292
23,323
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Thanks for the responses guys.
No offense taken at all, the story wasn't mine. I bought the pipe this way for a very reasonable price. The seller was NOT a pipe guy. The story of the cig burn was from my other thread that's all.
Looks like a complete redo is in order, as I originally thought.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
5,491
13,920
Do you really think a cigarette could do that?
Yes. Quite easily, in fact. Cigarettes used to have chemicals added to keep them lit. When a briar bowl leaned on top of one in an ashtray, a blackish mark/stripe was the result.
If the OP's pipe was burned in that way, the darkening goes a lot deeper than a refinish will fix.

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,292
23,323
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
if the OP's pipe was burned in that way, the darkening goes a lot deeper than a refinish will fix.
Well if George says a refinish won't erase it I guess I have to live with it.
I'd be more worried about you setting it on the concrete!
Just balancing to get some good light for the photos. I removed it before a bonsai sprouted from the bowl.
I guess there is no way to minimize it without removing finish. I will try to clean it up the best I can and eventually try to polish it up some. It is in such great shape aside from that mark.

 
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