I would like to even out the finish on this estate pipe. All I've done so far is clean it with soap and water. Any suggestions? meers.
How To Even Out the Finish on a Blotchy Meerschaum
- Thread starter Kirklands
- Start date
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Have you smoked it? If not, I'd smoke a dozen or so bowls and reevaluate.
Wet sand lightly with 800g. Wipe off slurry as you go. Flip paper when it loads up. Once the surface is all clean, polish lightly with MicroMesh. The color may still be irregular. But it will look better.
A lot of that might just be thick wax.
A lot of that might just be thick wax.
I've smoked it a few times, but I like your suggestion. At the very least, there's no harm in being patient and enjoying smoking it for a while to see what changes.
If Briarcutter's suggestion doesn't do the trick, I'll go your route.
Right now I'm working on replacing the tenon and mortise, so assuming that goes well, I can proceed to attempt to make the pipe finish more uniform or at lest less mottled.
If that is a Meer, you don't want to even out the finish.That is the progression of the coloring process. Smoke it 500 to a thousand times and it should be a nice, dark brown throughout.
My suggestion would be to just buff it up to a nice shine (by hand) and enjoy the uniqueness. Meerschaum will color however it wants based on the block and how it’s smoked.
If you’re dead set on sanding it use a lot of water and a very fine grit of 600 or higher, working to finer on through to micromesh. There’s no guarantee that it will end up more evenly colored for long.
As was said above, there’s probably wax that’s holding grime and smoke particles.
I restored an old meer that had some deep scratches and wet sanded them out and flattened a chipped rim. Smoking it caused it to very quickly begin coloring in more or less the patterns it had before.
If you’re dead set on sanding it use a lot of water and a very fine grit of 600 or higher, working to finer on through to micromesh. There’s no guarantee that it will end up more evenly colored for long.
As was said above, there’s probably wax that’s holding grime and smoke particles.
I restored an old meer that had some deep scratches and wet sanded them out and flattened a chipped rim. Smoking it caused it to very quickly begin coloring in more or less the patterns it had before.
Yup, smoke it and don't forget it's a natural mineral which colors because lots of tiny veins fill with the tobacco lees which slowly migrate towards the outer shell.
Question...Why did you buy a meerschaum? How it colors is totally dependent on the mineral's internals. Using wax will only coat the surface and may provide a bit of wax color on the very surface. Sanding will not alter the internals of the mineral, it will color as it wishes not...as you might desire.
Question...Why did you buy a meerschaum? How it colors is totally dependent on the mineral's internals. Using wax will only coat the surface and may provide a bit of wax color on the very surface. Sanding will not alter the internals of the mineral, it will color as it wishes not...as you might desire.
This one has at least 750 bowls through it at the time of this pic. Most of the outside is a very light off-white, and there is variable splotchiness, particularly at edges where it was carved.
I've seen others an even tan with just 200 bowls.
I'm not a super fast smoker, but I don't take 3 hours either. Whole bowls, no breaks from start to finish, usually lasts minimally 30 minutes, probably average 45-50, at most 1.25 hours (depends what I am smoking). Smoke it pretty much once per day, sits out of direct sunlight on my fireplace mantle (not in a case or something), in case any of that is a factor.
They color how they damn well please.
I've seen others an even tan with just 200 bowls.
I'm not a super fast smoker, but I don't take 3 hours either. Whole bowls, no breaks from start to finish, usually lasts minimally 30 minutes, probably average 45-50, at most 1.25 hours (depends what I am smoking). Smoke it pretty much once per day, sits out of direct sunlight on my fireplace mantle (not in a case or something), in case any of that is a factor.
They color how they damn well please.
Thanks for your question. I am new to meerschaums. This is only the second one I've bought. What fascinated me about this pipe was it's unique shape, it's antiquity (which in a prior post xrundog said was around 1900), and the reputation of meerschaums for giving a clean, direct taste of the tobacco. Once I got it, I thought the variations in color looked different than what I'd seen on other meers (on eBay etc), and I assumed the pipe had been abused, thus my desire to "fix it". If, however, all that I'm seeing on the surface of the pipe is the natural/expected result of having been smoked a long time, then it's not "broke" and I'm happy to not try to fix it. In fact, the coloration is just part of the beauty of an old, much-loved pipe.
I'm hearing y'all.
Thanks. More evidence I misunderstood the cause of the coloration.
The conclusion: "smoke it!"
It's not just on the surface. If you sliced that pipe in half, you'd see the color wicking through from the inside out. That's the primary reason there would be no reason to clean it or try to refinish it. Just keep enjoying that nice antique Meer, it should give you thousands of good smokes down the road.
I would take the lazy way and just see where it goes with use.
It is it's own character.
The shank and bottom are darker which is normal in the coloring progression of a Meer. Regardless of what has been done, as we will never know for certain, if the pipe is just smoked it will color and darken over time. Other than lightly buffing or sanding with extreme fine grit to smooth the surface, I don't know what there would be to do. You could take a few mm off the exterior and it would still look relatively the same.
Here is a nice article on the natural coloring of meerschaum and one of a few ways to color it evenly if you want to play with it a bit. (Coloring Bowl) https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/meerschaum-coloring