Bored And Thinking Of Coloring My MacArthur Cob.

[voorhees]

I have a huge cob, it's kinda plain, so I thought I'd color it. What can I use? Sharpies? Shoe polish? Food coloring?

 

[theboz]

I used instant coffee, mixed it with just enough water to dissolve the crystals completely. Then I painted it on using a brush. I used a couple coats, but that would be up to personal preference. If yours has a lot of plaster on it, that will have a tendency to come off. I also used a small butane torch to do scorch in some darker areas, just have to be careful to not overdo it and cause damage. Good luck, I had fun doing my Legend.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

show us picks of your Boz

 

[voorhees]

Thanks theboz I just happen to have some instant coffee. I actually dabbed it on with a paper towel. Looks a lot better.

 

[tobyducote]

Boz..good info..gonna try that on my cob

 

[theboz]

Mine was done a while ago, and it has been well used since, and may have endured a little abuse from my learning curve. Here is the picture of it today.

 

[sparrowhawk]

I'm a sometime artist, so I have some experience with art media. With my 4 cobs, I keep them separate by color coding: I brushed on some acrylic red ink on the bottoms of two of these pipes. Acrylic will never wash off, dries within minutes, and a acrylic based ink will absorb into the cob very well. Small bottles will be available at an art supply store. Trust me, they'll work for you.

 

[foggymountain]

Tea will also start a nice patina. As far as colors go, it is risky. You don't know how that green or yellow will affect the taste. But if you want colors, you want to find something which doesn't come off in your hands, which rules out watercolor, gouache, foodcolor. Felt tips are toxic and so are most pigments. You could probably get some interesting results with watercolors, but I wouldn't want to smoke the pipe.

 

[smokeybear]

Would this only work on bare cobs or does it apply to the varnished ones as well?

 

[onepyrotec]

Leather dyes would work too.

 

[roadqueen]

I used fingernail polish. True story. The pictures are on my member profile. Unfinished and finished alike. I used stickers that I thought were pretty and used clear polish over those to seal them to the bowl.
My Pipes

 

[smokeybear]

That's a neat idea roadqueen

 

[roadqueen]

Thanks, smokeybear. I too was once bored with time and cobs. ::

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I'm totally wanting to put some hot rod flames on my cob now... 8O

 

[virginiacob]

I've never tried it myself, but I wonder how "tobacco juice" would do in staining a cob? I had an uncle who was a black powder firearms collector (probably where I first got my interest in the Civil War and Civil War muskets) and he also enjoyed buying CVA black powder pistol and rifle kits and assembling them together. He was an avid pipe smoker (probably where I got my interest in pipe smoking as well) and I remember one day him telling me that some of the "old timers" used tobacco juice to stain their rifle stocks back in the 18th and early 19th centuries. I never came across any documentation to that fact myself, but it certainly sounds feasible. He decided to try it and dissolved some chewing tobacco into a "juice" and I remember it making a really neat dark stain to the wood stock when he was finished. It has peaked my interest and I might have to try and stain one of our cobs for the fun of it sometime just to see what it would look like!

 

[roadqueen]

I'm totally wanting to put some hot rod flames on my cob now... 8O

Careful with the hot rod flames, they'll make it smoke faster! :rofl:

 

[zekest]

"tobacco juice" just sounds, how do I politely put this, yeah, umm no.
"Roadqueen Pink" with a matching tamper...too "girlie" for me.
Hotrod Flames...too ambitious and requires talent I don't have.
Coffee or tea stain, that I can do!

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Roadqueen... You made me laugh