Accidentally Removed Some Finish off the Rim

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jpmcwjr

Lifer
May 12, 2015
26,263
30,341
Carmel Valley, CA
Thank you, I am from Uruguay!
Please put your location in your Profile, as people are forgetful.
Why: It will save time for others as to where you live when you mention local stores, weather, tobacco prices, availability, regulations, location of photos, wildfires, air quality, etc. In many instances that saves time for those who read your posts, and for you in not having to reply to inquiries. .
How:
Under your avatar, (top right, left most of three symbols) you choose "Account Details", which brings up "My Account". "My Location" is halfway down. Whatever you're comfortable with- town, city, county, state. province, etc.
 
Dec 3, 2021
5,537
48,043
Pennsylvania & New York
I did that once using saliva to clean a Savinelli rim… so I can relate, as far as a fix… I’m clueless, I just learned to accept it.
Same, mine is a Sav too.

I’ve posted multiple times on the forum that the saliva on the rim recommendation is not good when it comes to Savinelli pipes, especially on the newer releases. Sad to say, I also learned the hard way, on an Autograph pipe.
 

LeafErikson

Lifer
Dec 7, 2021
2,274
20,019
Oregon
I’ve posted multiple times on the forum that the saliva on the rim recommendation is not good when it comes to Savinelli pipes, especially on the newer releases. Sad to say, I also learned the hard way, on an Autograph pipe.
Any ideas as to why the saliva would cause the finish to come off? I recently cleaned the rims of my 2 Savinelli tre rusticated pipes with spit and a paper towels but didn’t do all the way to bare wood. I just cleaned off most of the lava from the rim.
 
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Reactions: TheIronMonkey
Dec 3, 2021
5,537
48,043
Pennsylvania & New York
Any ideas as to why the saliva would cause the finish to come off? I recently cleaned the rims of my 2 Savinelli tre rusticated pipes with spit and a paper towels but didn’t do all the way to bare wood. I just cleaned off most of the lava from the rim.

I know that Savinelli uses “natural dyes”—what this means exactly, I don’t know, other than the enzymes in saliva seem to break it down.
 
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Reactions: elvishrunes

camaguey

Can't Leave
Jul 25, 2021
300
479
west indies
Parker & Bailey touch up markers. For the few times i have used the product it gave exellent results. Just be sure to match the proper color. Bienvenido Charrua.
 

BrightDarkEyes

Can't Leave
Mar 16, 2024
477
6,781
Shuswap, British Columbia
I did this exact thing to two of my pipes when I started. They are Vauen Auenland Gilg Churchwardens and I kept using saliva to try to clean the rims, which cant inwards towards the bowl. After a while I noticed that I scrubbed the finish right off. It also really bothered me at the time but I never did anything to fix it.

I don't worry about cleaning my rims anymore. Some of my pipe rims darken and some don't.

I saw a YouTube video about a German pipe smoker. His channel is David Nolte and the video is called, "My VAUEN pipes".

He said that the finish on his Vauen pipes inevitably bubbles over time so he sands off the top of his pipe and applies a dark (or whatever is appropriate) stain to avoid this.

I have a lot of Vauen pipes and I haven't had any finish bubbling on me.

Maybe you can try something similar.
 
Dec 10, 2013
2,618
3,364
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Is removing stain worse than finish?
It depends ; on your skills, state of mind and on the type of stain/finish applied :)
I have very little experience with removing finish ( often shellack ) ,
but restained many pipes. Both need to be done precisely and take talent and skill.
Try mineral ( not vegetable ) oil . Shellack dissolves in alcohol, but that might possibly ruin the stain.
Or sand what's left of the finish most carefully with a little 0000 steel wool.
Markers work fine too.
 
Last edited:

Sigmund

Lifer
Sep 17, 2023
3,130
30,281
France
Markers are great. Are they toxic? I wouldnt eat them but how would you be ingesting marker from the rim of the bowl. To me its like worrying if you should eat varnish or poly from the finish of your dining room table. Im pretty confident that its safer than smoking.