My basket pipe :lol:
Seriously though, I was inspired over the weekend to play around with re-finishing a pipe. Dave made a post of a few pipes he had worked on so far this winter. I really loved the coloring of a couple of them. The particular shade really appealed to me.
Dave was kind enough to correspond with me about the colors he used and how he goes about mixing small batches. It really just comes down to a mix and test until it's what you think you want. Of course that is keeping in mind that buffing is going to slightly change the final look.
Either way, he gave me a starting point. I've since ordered a few new colors to add to my stain arsenal. I currently only have black, dark brown, and tan.
This last Sunday (before my conversation with Dave), I decided to re-stain a basket pipe I have. Well, my only basket pipe. I only have 5 pipes total, two of which I made. I'm least attached to the basket pipe so it was a perfect subject for experimentation.
I wish I had taken some pictures before I stripped the original stain, but I had no idea that re-finishing the pipe would make such a difference in its appearance.
The best I can describe the previous state is your typical dark reddish born basket pipe. Dark enough to hide any flaws and all but a hint of the grain underneath.
As soon as I stripped the pipe, the main flaw on the right front side was obvious to me. The grain is also nothing spectacular. Interesting, but not an artisan level stain by any means.
I described the final product to dave as "Very Brown". When he saw the pictures, he used much better words. He described it as rich brown and caramel colors. I vote for his description.
I've included a couple of photos.
One of the pipe stripped.
The second is a good representation of the colors. When I look at it on my screen it matches what I see in my hand.
The third and fourth are close-ups that show the contrast and overall detail.
I'm really happy with how it turned out.
It's much more striking than when I pulled it out of the pile of pipes on the counter at my local B&M
Seriously though, I was inspired over the weekend to play around with re-finishing a pipe. Dave made a post of a few pipes he had worked on so far this winter. I really loved the coloring of a couple of them. The particular shade really appealed to me.
Dave was kind enough to correspond with me about the colors he used and how he goes about mixing small batches. It really just comes down to a mix and test until it's what you think you want. Of course that is keeping in mind that buffing is going to slightly change the final look.
Either way, he gave me a starting point. I've since ordered a few new colors to add to my stain arsenal. I currently only have black, dark brown, and tan.
This last Sunday (before my conversation with Dave), I decided to re-stain a basket pipe I have. Well, my only basket pipe. I only have 5 pipes total, two of which I made. I'm least attached to the basket pipe so it was a perfect subject for experimentation.
I wish I had taken some pictures before I stripped the original stain, but I had no idea that re-finishing the pipe would make such a difference in its appearance.
The best I can describe the previous state is your typical dark reddish born basket pipe. Dark enough to hide any flaws and all but a hint of the grain underneath.
As soon as I stripped the pipe, the main flaw on the right front side was obvious to me. The grain is also nothing spectacular. Interesting, but not an artisan level stain by any means.
I described the final product to dave as "Very Brown". When he saw the pictures, he used much better words. He described it as rich brown and caramel colors. I vote for his description.
I've included a couple of photos.
One of the pipe stripped.
The second is a good representation of the colors. When I look at it on my screen it matches what I see in my hand.
The third and fourth are close-ups that show the contrast and overall detail.
I'm really happy with how it turned out.
It's much more striking than when I pulled it out of the pile of pipes on the counter at my local B&M