Bowl coating, wet tobacco

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Lurker
Nov 10, 2025
5
7
Hi, this may be a complete noob question so please forgive me.

Ive recently applied a bowl coating to my pipe, (pop, salt, activated charcoal blend) and now Im finding the pipe and tobacco to be very very wet at the bottom of the pipe and the smoke seems to be harsher.
Should I be allowing the tobacco to air/dry for longer, already seems pretty dry or is it something else?

Pipe is GBD New Era and tobacco is Chacom No3.

Thanks for any help/advice.
 

verporchting

Lifer
Dec 30, 2018
3,063
9,522
If the pipe smokes worse than it did before the bowl coating I’d say the problem is the coating. Sand it out with some fine grit sandpaper and just smoke the pipe. Cake happens in time without any encouragement from you. The only time I’d recommend adding a coating is when there’s a problem you’re trying to correct (like charring or loss of material) and I’m guessing that isn’t the case here?
 
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Lurker
Nov 10, 2025
5
7
Thanks for the replies.

Pop - plaster of paris

I added the coating as I was under the impression it was better for the pipe. I opened the tin on Friday of last week, it already feels pretty dry to the touch. Before adding the coating id let it sit out around 15mins before packing the pipe.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
22,956
58,306
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I'm assuming that the thickness of the coating was as thin as possible, barely a veil. If it's thick you may need to sand it down.

How much time did you give the POP to set up and dry before you smoked the pipe?

Try drying out the tobacco even more. 15 minutes is nothing. Give it an hour, pack it lightly, and try again.
 
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tartanphantom

Lurker
Oct 20, 2025
46
209
62
Murfreesboro, TN
Not telling anybody else their business, but here is what works for me—

If the bowl is pre-carbonized, I go straight to the gradual fill/gradual smoke method over the course of the first 4-5 bowls (1/3-1/2-2/3-Full).
Most factory carbons are not much more than water glass and carbon anyway, and tend to attract additional carbon rather quickly.

If a bowl is pure naked briar and has not been dip-finished, I still use the old-timer honey-coat method in conjunction with the gradual fill. This method is sometimes a point of argument among some pipe smokers, and I won’t tell folks who don’t do it that they are completely wrong- it’s just an old method, and it’s always worked for me. The key is to NOT goop it up— an ultra-thin sheen layer is all it takes.

In the event I‘m dealing with something like a dip-stained Peterson, it gets a little trickier, as I need to get as much stain out of the bowl before I start the break-in process. In this case, I’ll remove the bowl stain by swabbing the inside of the bowl with several rounds of high-proof Un-cut moonshine or store-bought pure-grain alcohol, taking care to not get it on the rim or outer finish.

Of course, everyone has different experiences and comfort levels with this sort of thing, so what works for me may be a complete no-go for someone else.

(…donning asbestos suit…) let the flaming begin.😁
 
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