I need to polish and wax two pipes I restored, but in the European market I cannot find the equivalent of white diamond and carnauba bars. Could you please help me where to find them, or at least if not possible what are the equivalents for these?
Help finding materials for polishing/waxing pipes
- Thread starter zanxion
- Start date
Sorry,I can't be of help, I'm not in Europe but maybe Dshift will chime in.
I can find some white polishing compound, but nowhere I can see if that is the same as "white diamond". Basically, on briar it is not advised to use any colored polishing compound, or it might dye the briar, am I correct?
I think you'll be ok. There's none formulated specifically for briar. Look for the grits you need, white diamond will be one of the finest. there are literally hundreds of compounds on the market, some, the only difference is in the name. You'll just have to read the classification of the compound to see if it fits your needs. I've never had a problem of a compound coloring the briar. I'd caution you on this. The red rouge or sometimes called jewellers rouge is great for silver but uses a very,very fine abrasive called iron oxide. It is very fine and can easily get into very small openings or crevices and it can be very difficult to remove. Outstanding for silver and other metals.
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Don't worry about colors of the compound also don't try to find the exact same product that you have seen on a US YouTube video. Been there, done that and we have stuff here in the EU that are called the same but are something different.
Dictum, pfeifenecke and Janzen have some supplies that could get you started. I don't want to give specific recommendations because everyone has a different process - if you rely a lot on the buffing wheel you will need completely different compounds and techniques than me for example.
If you want a really good result that's completely under your control, i would skip any coarse or pre polish stuff- better to do this by hand, in my opinion.
Here white diamond is quite coarse and recommended for pre- polish at least from what I researched
But then again, my usage of the buffing wheel is not the norm
You can really get deep into the rabbit hole with polishing. Wheels,speeds,compounds and techniques can be overwhelming. Polishing is a art and a skill. Not that I've perfected it, but I certainly know how to mess something up on the wheel
I'm sure there are tons of videos to get you started. And here's the conundrum, Dshift states that white diamond is aggressive, he's in Germany and in the US, in my experience white diamond is very fine. The color of the compound can be misleading. My best advice is, get a few compounds,different wheels and LOTS of practice material before you attempt polishing something of value. Practice! My set up is a 1/2 horse motor at 1725 RPM for wood and plastic,3500 RPM for metal and when a wheel grabs your work out of your hand time stops
I'm sure there are tons of videos to get you started. And here's the conundrum, Dshift states that white diamond is aggressive, he's in Germany and in the US, in my experience white diamond is very fine. The color of the compound can be misleading. My best advice is, get a few compounds,different wheels and LOTS of practice material before you attempt polishing something of value. Practice! My set up is a 1/2 horse motor at 1725 RPM for wood and plastic,3500 RPM for metal and when a wheel grabs your work out of your hand time stops
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I totally agree - just start experimenting on cheap estate pipes and find what works for you. @zanxion if you need some of those i can help with that too. Depending on the buffing wheel you have, even the rpms are not much if a help on paper, because in real life i love my smaller buffer with soft wheels, and it will slow down significantly if you put enough pressure, so can't even recommend rpms...You can really get deep into the rabbit hole with polishing. Wheels,speeds,compounds and techniques can be overwhelming. Polishing is a art and a skill. Not that I've perfected it, but I certainly know how to mess something up on the wheel
Does that UNIPOL high gloss wax paste do the same with the White Diamond paste?
I am going for a very basic setup of two wheels, one with white diamond or an equivalent, and one for carnauba wax.
Could you please point me to how many pastes I need for some descent polishing?
I have a 2800-3000 rpm dual wheel, with 150mm wheels. I can also get an adjustable speed dual wheel machine, but with 75mm wheels. Could this be of any use?
Could you please show me a photo of your buffing wheel? Is the dual wheel adjustable the dictum 75 one?
Ok so my setup has changed a few times, but I am really happy with what I have right now:
A big 400w dual buffer - old-school a lot of torque. On this one i have two soft 200mm wheels, on one of them i have cut the stitches so it's even softer. This machine i use only for stems and the very rare silver buffing. The extra soft wheel i use 90% of the time, with a very soft, fine and oily compound, since it almost doesn't take any material away. The stitched one only use if I have left some scratches or a spot of oxidation on accident (I don't runn whole stems on it).
My second machine is the dictum 75, with two even softer wheels. On one i have cut all the stitches and is used for carnauba, the other has one row of stitches and is used for briar. This machine is not considered professional level, which is actually a plus for me since it will struggle to keep it's rpm on the lowest setting, if met with some resistance . Even the slowest 500 rpms setting is too fast for my taste so i just push the pipe deep into the wheel while the machine is off and then i turn it on while maintaining the pressure - this gives me around 80-120 rpms i would guess. I have no idea if I am breaking rules, doing this, but it gives me the best results without any streaks, without any risk of buffing out stamps or taking away stain.
For compounds this is what I use:
Big buffer:
Soft wheel - semi oily, coarsest of the high polish compounds
Extra soft wheels - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Small buffer:
Soft wheel - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Extra soft wheel - carnauba wax
All the surfaces has been prepared for buffing, using "Autolack" sandpapers from TOOM up to 1000 grit.
Wet sanding for stems, dry sanding for briar, silver cloth for silver.
If everything is done right, the time needed under the wheels should be under 60 seconds.
For any future questions about how i get a shine on my pipes and stems
Could you please show me a photo of your buffing wheel? Is the dual wheel adjustable the dictum 75 one?
Ok so my setup has changed a few times, but I am really happy with what I have right now:
A big 400w dual buffer - old-school a lot of torque. On this one i have two soft 200mm wheels, on one of them i have cut the stitches so it's even softer. This machine i use only for stems and the very rare silver buffing. The extra soft wheel i use 90% of the time, with a very soft, fine and oily compound, since it almost doesn't take any material away. The stitched one only use if I have left some scratches or a spot of oxidation on accident (I don't runn whole stems on it).
My second machine is the dictum 75, with two even softer wheels. On one i have cut all the stitches and is used for carnauba, the other has one row of stitches and is used for briar. This machine is not considered professional level, which is actually a plus for me since it will struggle to keep it's rpm on the lowest setting, if met with some resistance . Even the slowest 500 rpms setting is too fast for my taste so i just push the pipe deep into the wheel while the machine is off and then i turn it on while maintaining the pressure - this gives me around 80-120 rpms i would guess. I have no idea if I am breaking rules, doing this, but it gives me the best results without any streaks, without any risk of buffing out stamps or taking away stain.
For compounds this is what I use:
Big buffer:
Soft wheel - semi oily, coarsest of the high polish compounds
Extra soft wheels - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Small buffer:
Soft wheel - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Extra soft wheel - carnauba wax
All the surfaces has been prepared for buffing, using "Autolack" sandpapers from TOOM up to 1000 grit.
Wet sanding for stems, dry sanding for briar, silver cloth for silver.
If everything is done right, the time needed under the wheels should be under 60 seconds.
For any future questions about how i get a shine on my pipes and stems
Whatever your method your efforts do indeed result in some mirror-like finishes. I'm amazed at your stem-polishing work in particular.
Very interested in this as well. There’s such an inconsistency here with how stuff is called and colour grades that do not correspond to what another manufacturer uses. It’s such a mess. I’ve basically given up on machine compounds and go for Micromesh and elbow grease. Of course, this means no wax finish, only a natural sheen.
That's why I have probably over fifty pounds of compound I'll more than likely never use. I was serious about polishing so I had to take the plunge and experiment. The good thing is, I worked with a very generous company that would send out samples after speaking with a technician of my needs. That WAS a good company to work with.I think STG bought that company
That’s actually sound advice. If I ever find something that works, I’ll be sure to stock up on it.That's why I have probably over fifty pounds of compound I'll more than likely never use. I was serious about polishing so I had to take the plunge and experiment. The good thing is, I worked with a very generous company that would send out samples after speaking with a technician of my needs. That WAS a good company to work with.I think STG bought that company
Thank you so much for your invaluable info. Yes, I have the Dictum 75 polishing motor. I finally understood how things work and I ordered two more wheels, one will get its stitches off and the other will be left with a row of them. I have also found and ordered two waxy super fine polishing compounds (both of them are white) and a bar of carnauba (unfortunately where I am they sell bars of 60g only).Could you please show me a photo of your buffing wheel? Is the dual wheel adjustable the dictum 75 one?
Ok so my setup has changed a few times, but I am really happy with what I have right now:
A big 400w dual buffer - old-school a lot of torque. On this one i have two soft 200mm wheels, on one of them i have cut the stitches so it's even softer. This machine i use only for stems and the very rare silver buffing. The extra soft wheel i use 90% of the time, with a very soft, fine and oily compound, since it almost doesn't take any material away. The stitched one only use if I have left some scratches or a spot of oxidation on accident (I don't runn whole stems on it).
My second machine is the dictum 75, with two even softer wheels. On one i have cut all the stitches and is used for carnauba, the other has one row of stitches and is used for briar. This machine is not considered professional level, which is actually a plus for me since it will struggle to keep it's rpm on the lowest setting, if met with some resistance . Even the slowest 500 rpms setting is too fast for my taste so i just push the pipe deep into the wheel while the machine is off and then i turn it on while maintaining the pressure - this gives me around 80-120 rpms i would guess. I have no idea if I am breaking rules, doing this, but it gives me the best results without any streaks, without any risk of buffing out stamps or taking away stain.
For compounds this is what I use:
Big buffer:
Soft wheel - semi oily, coarsest of the high polish compounds
Extra soft wheels - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Small buffer:
Soft wheel - very oily, very soft and fine fine polish compound
Extra soft wheel - carnauba wax
All the surfaces has been prepared for buffing, using "Autolack" sandpapers from TOOM up to 1000 grit.
Wet sanding for stems, dry sanding for briar, silver cloth for silver.
If everything is done right, the time needed under the wheels should be under 60 seconds.
For any future questions about how i get a shine on my pipes and stems