Bulls Eye Shellac and Pipes

[hawky454]

So one problem that I have noticed with all of my Neerup pipes is yes, he uses some kind of finish like Shellac, not sure what kind but after years of the pipes heating up and cooling they become blotchy. I also wipe down the rim after every smoke and that will slowly wear away at the shellac leaving an uneven finish. I've not noticed this with any other brands except the one Peterson that I have that has about an inch coating of shellac. All my Stanwell's Charatan's and Gambino's seem to only use carnauba wax but I do trust Sasquatch when he says they are all treated with some kind of shellac finish. I think some just use a much thiner application than others.

 

[zack24]

All my Stanwell's Charatan's and Gambino's seem to only use carnauba wax but I do trust Sasquatch

If it’s a proper shellac finish, you won’t know it’s there...it’s an extremely thin coat that when repeated a couple of times and buffed out will not look like a coating. That takes time. The crappy finishes are slapped on in as thick coat- those are the ones that might bubble or hide what is usually mediocre grain...

 

[sasquatch]

Yes, Salted, I made that pipe many moons ago, it was a dublin/horn variant. I can't see a picture of it on my current computer, which means I'd have to wade through 10,000 pics on photobucket, and that would take till the time of Revelation. I did a re-dux more recently, a slightly thinned out version of the same idea:

And a guy can of course loosen the shape up even more and go for straight flow:

Lots of fun.
These pipes have shellac on 'em though, so they'll probably soon disintegrate if they haven't already.

 

[sasquatch]

Briar absolutely WILL try to lose moisture when a guy is smoking. I don't like to call it "breathing". But here is a picture of a dead-dry briar block being drilled - the heat causes moisture to be pushed out the end-grain - you can see a ring of moisture around where the cut is being made here. Happens with every block, no matter how old. There is ambient humidity in wood.

You heat that moisture up, it's going to try to go somewhere. So these finishes that blister, they are doing so because there is vapor pressure building up behind them. Shellac is fairly transparent to this, as are some oils. But a hugely thick coat of some or other finish is always going to be prone to bubbling. Some will soften with heat (shellac melts about 85C I think), some won't. Some will stay adhered if they were put on right, some won't. Presumably pipe manufacturers do a little testing and choose something appropriate. But if you are buying a 15 dollar pipe and thinking that it has the same care of finishing that a 500 dollar pipe does, that ain't the case.
my further 2 cents

 

[nevadablue]

Breathing is not done by pipes. Moisture transpiration or wicking, but no breathing, except through the chamber and shank, back and forth, not sideways.
Sasquatch, is that copper on the shank of the pipe? I really like that look.

 

[aquadoc]

Sasquatch, those are some fine looking pipes.

 

[sasquatch]

Yeah copper, in this case representative for the commissioner of having finished his apprenticeship.

 

[whiteburleydude]

Thanks for the info Zack24. I'm going to purchase some flakes and try the thin coat of shellac on a couple of refurb rusticated pipes I sand blasted then stained. I'm just getting into refurbishing as a hobby, so I'm experimenting on some Ebay purchases at the moment.

 

[Chasing Embers]

So one problem that I have noticed with all of my Neerup pipes is yes, he uses some kind of finish like Shellac, not sure what kind but after years of the pipes heating up and cooling they become blotchy. I also wipe down the rim after every smoke and that will slowly wear away at the shellac leaving an uneven finish.

Hmmm. None of that with these guys. Have had both since 2012, and other than the nickle bands tarnishing, the finish is just as shiny as when new.

 

[zack24]

....and here is some information and sources- I use the Platina...
With regards to shellac, the term “cut” refers to the proportion of shellac ( in pounds) to alcohol( in gallons ). Thus a 2 pound cut means 2 pounds of shellac flakes dissolved in a gallon of alcohol. Since few people would use a gallon of shellac for a project and because liquid shellac has a relatively short shelf life ( approximately 6 months ), it is best to mix up only what you think you will need. For example, to make a 2 pound cut you could mix ¼ pound of flakes with 1 pint of alcohol.
Below is a chart for mixing 8 - 10 ozs. of finish at various cuts:
#1 cut.....................1 oz flakes...............8 oz alcohol
#2 cut.....................2 oz flakes...............8 oz alcohol
#3 cut.....................3 oz flakes...............8 oz alcohol
Shellac Shack