Buffing Estate Pipes With a Drill Setup.

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pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
Im having buffing an estate pipe/stem i got off the bay. I have a buffing wheel and drill setup and use white diamond polish. Yet when i buff the pipe and stem it doesn't come out clean. Is is because the pipe is to old? Does it require a restain job? Or am I just buffing wrong?

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
yep i oxidized the stem in bleach. Aren't the stems and pipes supposed to be shiny after a buffing? The caranuba is just supposed to help sustain that shine right?

 
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ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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Well, as with anything polished, preparation is 90% of your success. Only mildly oxidized stems will come out shiny black with the buffing wheel. Sanding by hand with a combination of wet paper (1500/200) and then micromesh (8000 & 12000) THEN moving to the buffing wheel works for me. At that point, I typically buff with White Diamond (finishing grit) and then a plastic polish. Sometimes I'll hit a badly oxidized stem with Tripoli first. For pipe work and polish, a sewn cloth wheel is your friend (stay away from Sisal, etc, too aggresive). A loose buff is used for the final application of carnuba to the briar. There are a lot of ways to buff a pipe, that's my system. See my posts (under Upshallfan) and other restorers on the "Reborn Pipes" blog for more details and pictures.
http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/about/

 

ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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Hmm, for me, restoring a British pipe is like rebuilding a vintage British car or motorcycle then getting the pleasure of driving it. Knowing I had a hand in bringing the pipe back, that adds to my satisfaction. Perhaps that is why I haven't yet bought a pipe from Mike....his are just too fine looking right out of the shoot (although that Castello #54 is tempting me... )
Thanks for the green tip rough Mike. I'm driving past Eastwood next week, I'll check there. If they don't have it, Jestco is my vendor of choice for buffing supplies, they carry the green:

http://www.jestcoproducts.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=14

 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
1CD464CB-A1B2-41DF-8F3B-470FCCC462E3-18049-00001C17C531BD57.jpg
is after polishing with white diamond

 

ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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To get a good shine, you have to do some prep, my opinion (or have a more powerful buffing setup). This one was completed using the wet paper/micromesh and then buffed:


 

pipinho

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 1, 2013
207
21
613AF516-9242-400A-A8AB-52C1FD640866-18553-00001D3FC3A99DD0.jpg


8554E463-8B83-4D61-B07C-7286F0F35F85-18553-00001D3FBCCA596A.jpg

After another buff of white diamond and carnauba wax. For some reason it doesn't have that shine :(

 

ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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You can get 1500 and 2000 grit wet paper at most autoparts store, in the body shop section. That will get you a lot closer. My Autozone even carries some 3500 grit pads. "Hobbytown" also carries their own version of the micromesh pads, that go up to the 12000 grit. The 12000 grit yields scratches that aren't visible to the naked eye. Unless you have a very powerful buffer like Mike's, hand sanding is inexpensive and just requires some elbow grease to execute. A drill buffing setup alone just won't do it to the level you are seeking.

 

rhogg

Can't Leave
Jun 14, 2011
443
2
Bleach, sodium hypochlorite, will dissolve vulcanite if given enough time. Soaking a pipe stem in a diluted solution can damage it significantly if left for too long. Oxi clean and similar products are sodium percarbonate.... which when activated with water acts like bleach but will not dissolve your stems. This will make restoring stems easier for you. Household bleach is setting you back.

 

ejames

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
3,916
22
Bleach, sodium hypochlorite, will dissolve vulcanite if given enough time. Soaking a pipe stem in a diluted solution can damage it significantly if left for too long. Oxi clean and similar products are sodium percarbonate.... which when activated with water acts like bleach but will not dissolve your stems. This will make restoring stems easier for you. Household bleach is setting you back.
I disagree. I have bleached literally hundreds of stems--never ruined one. Granted if left in the bleach for an extended length of time-days- it might damage your stem.

Oxy-clean,in my experience does little to remove oxidation. As Mike stated above he sometimes needs to bleach the stems AFTER soaking in Oxy-clean.

Pipinho. I get the impression you took your stem out of a soak of some sort(what did you use?) and went straight to the buffer. That AIN"T gonna work. You can if you spend enough time with the right compounds make it shine. It will also have a very wavy surface and most likely some blurred edges,burned button etc.

A LIGHTLY oxidized stem can be buffed without any type of soak or sanding,but if there is heavy oxidation or scratches ,toothmarks etc. it will need to be sanded. Wet sanding works best for me.

I like to start with the finest grit of sandpaper than will give me a nice SMOOTH surface,usually 360 or 400 grit. Sometimes you can start with 600. Care must be taken to avoid rounding the face of the stem. I've found that on most stems only the area close to the button needs to be worked with the courser grits and as you get toward the end(face) of the stem you can usually use finer grits.

It is important that the stem be sanded thoroughly with each grit so that the sanding marks from the previous grit are totally removed.

If you don't want to soak the stem first, you can use the water you're sanding with to check to see if the oxidation is gone. After sanding for a while,rinse the stem and while it is still wet take a close look at it. Any remaining oxidation will show up as brown or greenish colored areas indicationg more work needed in those areas.

I sand up to 800 grit usually,sometimes with some stems (small dainty stems- especially acrylics) I go to 1000 and take it to the buffer and hit it with white diamond. I can usually see my ugly mug in the reflection after buffing with white diamond. For a little added sparkle I hit it with red jewelers rouge and for a little more-wax it with Paragon.Carnuba will do the same but the Paragon seems to hold up longer.

If your bowl is grungy you can scrub it down with Murphy's oil Soap or Simple Green,taking care not to get a lot of water in the bowl or shank. A little water ain't gonna hurt it.A toothbrush can be used to scrub a rusticated pipe. Let it dry overnight before proceeding.

Unless the pipe is beat( talking smooth pipes here) up you can hit it some brown tripoli and then some white diamond,then wax.Buffing a rusticated pipe with a compound can be tricky and can make it look like Sh+T.

Buffing(with a compound) in my opinion should be kept to an absolute minimum,both when restoring and for maintenance.It's kinda like prepping a car for paint. Get it smooth-then buff.

Also keep in mind there are alternative to sanding. Magic erasers will remove light oxidation,so will 0000 steel wool although you can;t get in close to the button with it.There are several way to get a nice shine,but the secret-IMO- is completely removing oxidation and getting the surface smooth-before buffing.

 

ssjones

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May 11, 2011
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It is important that the stem be sanded thoroughly with each grit so that the sanding marks from the previous grit are totally removed.
Exactly. I got my start buffing metal (aluminum, stainless). Less scratches = more shine, the more you sand the better the shine. Pretty much the same for stems and a lesser extent briar. Your drill mounted buffing wheel has limitations due to the diminished speed/power of the pad. A bench mounted motor would take the briar to higher level of shine.

 
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