Bulls Eye Shellac and Pipes

[lazydog]

while awaiting a new tobacco (Sunza Bitches) to possibly pop into my mailbox, I got the idea to experiment with some Bulls Eye shellac on some dull old fishin pipes. These are the pipes that say Italy or imported briar or nothing on them. So....I popped the Bulls Eye can and brushed 4 pipes with a thin coat of shellac and the results were fantastic. The rusticated ones have a new look and the one smooth, looks like a different pipe with the grain and color transformed. I decided to try this after reading a very renowned pipe maker disclose some of his secrets and revealing that in his opinion a coating on the pipe does not affect any breathability issues for the pipe. He wouldn't reveal his finish for his pipes though. Shellac is my new friend. It dries in 30 minutes and hardly smells at all. :crazy:

 

[crpntr1]

No pics??? That's a little :crazy: in itself

 

[marmal4de]

reading a very renowned pipe maker disclose some of his secrets and revealing that in his opinion a coating on the pipe does not affect any breathability issues for the pipe

I don't believe that at all, do you have the source material?
P.S. Also pics please!

 

[ichbinmuede]

I'd like to see some pictures too!
As far as shellac on pipes...I have a couple pipes with shellac on them, I had a pipe with some sort of varnish on it, and really they are (and were) good smokers. I'm not at all convinced that leaving the wood to "breathe" affects the smoking at all. It really doesn't seem to me like it would affect it at all but it also seems that both opinions are impossible to prove. I do plan to try it out myself and see but I plan to do a french polish because it's by nature very thin and seems like it'd be ideal. Glad you saw good results!

 

[marmal4de]

both opinions are impossible to prove.

-Design an experiment

-Gather data

-Analise data

-Prove or disprove hypothesis

-Publish 'Thermodynamics of Pipe Smoking' paper

-Profit?

 

[lazydog]

sorry for no pics... I'll work on that. Don't remember the pipe maker and I already wiped his history of my Mac. But he is a highend (nothing under 400 $) that has a great web site with step by step pics and explanation of his pipe making. If ya got a dull old no name pipe, give it a try.....Remains to be seen how the shellac holds up after repeated burns. The grain and color of the pipe after shellac is greatly improved. Seems to magnify the grain. Very pleased. Pack a pipe, light it, enjoy it, clean it, do it again :wink:

 

[ejames]

A good many pipe makers use shellac on their pipes,especially rusticated pipes. Do some research over at the pipe makers forum.

http://www.pipemakersforum.com/

 

[ichbinmuede]

Haha Marms I'm not sure that I'm the man for that job. The one experiment that I can think of is to make two identically constructed pipes for about one hundred people except for finishing one with a thin coat of shellac and and carnuba and one with carnuba alone and see what they think after having them in their rotation for a year or two. But even that experiment is flawed for the variables in the quality of a briar block and not to mention the different ways people smoke.

Maybe with a synthetic material that is identical to the finest quality briar (nigh impossible) and a machine to pack it and smoke it perfectly with an intelligence to quantify the characteristics of the quality of the smoke (hugely useless past this experiment) you would have a reliable result for that specific set of variables. Even then though you still wouldn't have a definitive answer for the people because we still wouldn't know how it is with the varying qualities of briar!
It's hard to prove a positive but even harder to prove a negative. I can't tell you that there is no god, only why I don't think there is nor can I tell you with certainty that there is no bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti even if I spent years living in an area and constantly searching where one was supposedly seen. It is alas just a damn near unobtainable answer.
The science is a cruel but wonderful mistress.

 

[rigmedic1]

I can only go with my experience. I have removed the shellac coating on a couple of old pipes and found them to smoke much cooler, even though they weren't as pretty anymore. Of course, the things were heavily coated. Now I tend to steer clear of any coatings or varnishes when I am looking for pipes, and I like Edwards pipes, which are natural.

 

[cortezattic]

Myths of Pipe Smoking Article mentions the lacquer finish debate. IMO pipes don't breathe anything. But even if they do, who's to say varnish and lacquer don't "breathe" too? Even plastic sandwich bags, which retain moisture, can pass volatile organic molecules, for which reason they are not suitable for long term tobacco storage. To a molecule, the strands of a hydrocarbon polymer finish might look like the forest to a deer -- opaque, but not impenetrable.

 

[lazydog]

After shellacing about 7 pipes, I see no issues with breathability of the briar. I just did an old large rusticated Tom Howard, and the color of the briar popped out some reds that were not visible before the shellac. It even made the signature more visible. I still worry if the shellac will hold up in the long run after heating and cooling. Time will tell. So far so great. One thin coat is all I put on. ::

 

[maduroman]

shellac uses alcahol for a solavent so be carefull cleaning the pipes w/ it...

 

[pentangle]

Shellac is a natural varnish.the use on rusticated pipes is practically obligatory, as carnauba remains white in the depressions of the briar and it turns out not polished.But shellac even if lesser than other not natural varnishes will seal the briar.Pipes with shellac make more condenses than the ones polished with carnauba.Carnauba also seal a little so at finally rusticated polished with shellac will make the same condenses than the not rusticated polished with carnauba.Rusticated have more briar surface .So shellac is only acceptable on rusticated.Beware to the use of alchool to clean the pipe as shellac is alchool based.Pay attemption also to water and rain because shellac turns yellow and opaque with water and humid

Maurizio

 

[nsfisher]

I have removed varnish from several pipes and did find they smoked a bit better. Especially on one in particular that had a habit of smoking wet. I traded a pipe the other day to a forum member that I stripped down to bare wood and applied 4 coats of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over a 2 week period. I have an identical one here still that I have left in original condition and find it to smoke as the other one did before removing the coating. Tonite I am going to strip it down as I did the first one.

 

[whiteburleydude]

I agree with the rusticated pipes for sure. Once you have seen a blasted pipe with no clear coat, you realize all finished blasted pipes have it.

 

[zack24]

... an oldie but goodie. Shellac is fine. Zinnsers Bulls Eye is crap- it’s thick, goopy, and has a tint. The best is Ultra Platinum Blonde Shellac Flakes cut incredibly thin with alcohol...wiped on and off with a smooth for maybe 3 coats. Use a doubled pipe cleaner to apply to a blast. Let it harden for a couple of days and then a final buff out and wax. That leaves you with a sealed in stain that doesn’t come off on your fingers and an extremely thin finish that shows the grain very nicely...

 

[sasquatch]

LOL yeah I love it when the experts creep in, and fail to identify shellac vs lacquer vs acrylic vs urethane, offer some goofy subjective anecdote about either varnishing or unvarnishing a single pipe (which then performed notably better or worse under laboratory conditions!).
Not a pipe on your shelves boys, not a single one, that doesn't have some kind of clear coat on it. Cuz if you don't, the stain comes off on your hands. Unless you are buying unfinished pipes, and you'll see that those dirty up in about 2 seconds.
What you don't know won't hurt you. Not sure what the hard shell on my Castello Sea Rocks is, I assume it's shellac. Never gets dull, that's for sure. And yet.... oddly they smoke great. I musta got lucky.

 

[sasquatch]

Oh my GAWD I just realized this thread is five years old!
Kill it!
Kill it with fire!

 

[saltedplug]

sasquatch, did you make the pipe in your avatar? In any case do you have more pictures? Looks terribly interesting.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Though a very good zombie thread.
Thank you.