Meer restoration Questions.

[tokerpipes]

I have recieved an estate meer. I can only get to PM.com site through my cell phone and am unable to post pics at this time.
I noticed this smooth bulldog bowl has many scratches and digs in the bowl, would it be ok to smooth the exterior of the bowl with sanding? Could this damage the dexterity of the bowl? I was planning on using micromesh and would be rewaxing the bowl once done.

 

[mlaug]

I'm not sure what you mean by the "dexterity of the bowl", but you can sand small nicks and dings out.
It doesn't hurt the pipe.

 

[tobakenist]

I have used fine wire wool with great effect, if you do this you will have to re-wax it with beeswax or something similar. Be careful not to take to much away where the shank meets the stem.

 

[tokerpipes]

Would you say wet sanding with the micromesh would be the best way. I know most meer carvers soak the block before working on it.

 

[jasongone]

I used 1200 grit on the bowl rim of a large billiard meer to get off a decent coating of tar. Just went gentle and it worked very well.

 

[tokerpipes]

I am planning on keeping the stem attached when I do the sanding that way it matches up perfectly, currently they dont match exactly. Sometimes its good to be a perfectionist. :puffpipe:

 

[bigvan]

So what exactly is "dexterity of the bowl"?

 

[tokerpipes]

Strength. Longevity. Durability.

 

[fred]

Sanding the finish can cause the Pipe to loose years of patina development. The more conservative approach, which preserves as much of the patina as possible, is to clean the exterior with Everclear and a clean white cotton cloth. Once this dries, rub white Beeswax on the Pipe while smoking it, wiping off what is not absorbed with a cotton rag. Likely, the Pipe will take a lot of the Beeswax and more patina will come out of the Block. Currently, I'm doing the same thing with an Andreas Bauer that suffered years of abuse, with good results. The exterior will eventually smooth out with continued applications of the Beeswax and buffing with the cotton cloth, but it will take some time. After sanding Pipes in the past and waiting for years for the patina to return, I've now started using this more conservative approach instead. If you clean the Pipe after every smoke with Everclear, a shank brush and plenty of Pipe cleaners, it will flush the Block and return to smoking with clarity... Again, time is a factor here, but that is the thing about Meerschaums - everything takes time but the rewards are great.

 

[uberam3rica]

So what exactly is "dexterity of the bowl"?

Strength. Longevity. Durability.

Dexterity doesn't have anything to do with strength, longevity or durability
dex·ter·i·ty noun dek-ˈster-ə-tē, -ˈste-rə-

1: mental skill or quickness : adroitness

2: readiness and grace in physical activity; especially : skill and ease in using the hands

 

[tobakenist]

Dry sanding, meerschaum sucks up water like a sponge.

 

[tokerpipes]

Ok so I was no english major in school, I was a music education major. But you get what I was trying to say. :mrgreen:

 

[tobakenist]

I know that Fred is a devotee of meerschaums but I don't agree that light sanding ruins the patina, the patina supposed to be built up from the interior, what builds up from the exterior is crud, sweat, grease and dirt from hands, also what he describes will not remove deep scratches or chips, obviously it all depends on the condition of the pipe, as Tokerpipes states, he is a perfectionist, surely it is best for him to decide whether sanding is required and if so, help him to do it properly.

 

[tokerpipes]

It is just now starting to color and not much smoke time from the previous owner. I figure the darkening will still come through as it is a pourous stone and I just want to get it back to the smooth outside it had when it was new. it looks like its been sitting in some guys toolbox for the last 20 years.

 

[spartan]

+1 to fred. He's the meer expert.
But if you're not worried about the patina of the pipe (if it even ahs any) then LIGHT sanding should be fine.
Just be careful.

 

[fred]

If you choose to sand the Pipe it is best to use 12,000 to 18,000 grit Micro mesh with Everclear. Coarser grades will leave scratches that show up noticeably. The Everclear serves to both help remove the grime and to keep the Micro mesh from clogging up. If you choose to remove deep scratches, you will change the shape of the Pipe. Yes, the development of patina will be interrupted and will take possibly years to come back to the same as it is now. That has been my experience and the experience of those in the All Things Meerschaum group that have tried sanding Meerschaums. The current membership is at 373 members, after over 3 years of the group's existence, with the primary focus of Meerschaum Pipes and their culture.

 

[baronsamedi]

+1 Everything Fred said. I've done the alcohol/cotton cleaning on my Meer and it worked great. Lemon juice and cotton will remove dirt and tar, as well. It isn't as powerful as alcohol, though.