Charred bowl?

[Jjliver]

Can anyone suggest how to rid this bowl of what appears to be a charred bowl? I tried saliva but it made no difference.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sandpaper

 

[jpmcwjr]

I doubt it's charred, but the photos are so underexposed I cannot tell. It's probably lava/tar/whatever.
With the rim being blasted I'd use a toothbrush and dish detergent.

 

[kcghost]

Warm coffee and a rag will remove most tobacco stains from a pipe. If truly charred sand paper is your best bet.

 

[anotherbob]

might not be that at all. Not even sure it's discoloration from smoke. It looks like it's running down the side which is oddish.

 

[nolan613]

Dawn dish detergent and extra firm toothbrush. Have used a cork to keep the detergent from getting inside the bowl.

 

[AJL67]

Here i just did part of this rim for an example. It was all black like the black side (duh right lol) this is about 30 seconds of spit and a paper towel. Sorry i didn’t do total before and after but to be honest i didn’t think about it and this should be example enough.

 

[phdaemon]

Hello. I restore pipes as a hobby and have done some pretty decent removal of charred bowls.

Attached are some examples.

There's a couple of steps you can take.

• For light charring, you can use a rag and just spit, put some elbow grease into it, and eventually you'll get a lot of the charring out. This really only works for smooth pipes.
• For heavy charring, you're gonna need a couple of things. Get a copper wire brush, and gently brush the surface where the charring is. To smooth it out you can use a very high grit micromesh pad (like 4000+). You don't want to do it too hard because you'll end up sanding off the finish (if there's any). You really only want to remove the char. After you do that, you're going to use Restoration Balm from La Belle Epoque (La Belle Epoque Pens - https://lbepens.webs.com/apps/webstore/products/show/7791505). Let it set for about 15 minutes then rub it off.
• For textured / rusticated / etc pipes (anything that's not a smooth surface where the charring is) you're gonna follow the same process as heavy charring, except no micromesh pad.

Hopefully this helps. Good luck!

 

[mikethompson]

The above example is excellent.

For what it's worth, I've had good luck with coffee and paper towel.

 

[jpmcwjr]

It may be helpful to use strict terms. Actual charring is when the briar is permanently damaged. Short of that, it's lava, tar, etc.

 

[phdaemon]

It may be helpful to use strict terms. Actual charring is when the briar is permanently damaged. Short of that, it's lava, tar, etc.

This is good to know. I always referred to permanent damage (inside the chamber) as burn out. But lava and tar make sense to use in the context of this thread (outside the chamber).

Thanks for the knowledge!

 

[peteguy]

Non "flame/heat damage" pipe you must go slow and use patience. If it is just "gunk" it will eventually come off. If you go with with extra abrasive, go hard or fast, you will chance removing some stain. I just use a wet sponge and rest the pipe bowl opening down on the sponge.

If its the other damage then you have to repair or live with it how it is.

 

[bullet08]

Spit on it and rub it like.. That didn't come out right. If the char doesn't go away, enjoy smoking knowing you can do no wrong.