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sparrowhawk

Lifer
Jul 24, 2013
2,941
219
What should I apply to my pipes to restore the original shiny look? Some sort of polyurethane coat?
 

sasquatch

Lifer
Jul 16, 2012
1,683
2,862
Wax. If you are stripping/restoring, that's different, but if you are just shining up pipes, carnauba is the answer, and a buffing wheel is the best. Halcyon or Paragon type waxes are hand-applicable.
 
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gerryp

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 8, 2018
704
2,368
56
Arabi, LA
+1 on the carnauba/buffing wheel. I was using a Dremel to apply carnauba, which works, but the buffing wheel is way better. Mine was 50 or 60 from Harbor Freight and it works great.

On a side note, until recently I was only putting carnauba on the pipes I've made/refurbished (it's not that many). Recently I started applying a thin coat of lacquer first, then the wax after that. I think it looks a little better and might hold a shine a little longer, maybe. Some guys are opposed to using lacque, maybe because it's made of bug goo which sounds gross. There's a bit of a learning curve btw. I just sanded/stained/lacquered/waxed this one today:

IMG_20201123_150902.jpg
 
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gerryp

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 8, 2018
704
2,368
56
Arabi, LA
+1 on the carnauba/buffing wheel. I was using a Dremel to apply carnauba, which works, but the buffing wheel is way better. Mine was 50 or 60 from Harbor Freight and it works great.

On a side note, until recently I was only putting carnauba on the pipes I've made/refurbished (it's not that many). Recently I started applying a thin coat of lacquer first, then the wax after that. I think it looks a little better and might hold a shine a little longer, maybe. Some guys are opposed to using lacque, maybe because it's made of bug goo which sounds gross. There's a bit of a learning curve btw. I just sanded/stained/lacquered/waxed this one today:

View attachment 52595

Oops...I meant to say shellac. I'm not using lacquer, and don't plan to.
 

Kottan

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 5, 2020
508
1,329
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Oops...I meant to say shellac. I'm not using lacquer, and don't plan to.
Hello gerryp, that was my guess and I wrote a comment yesterday but didn't yet post it....

I think you are talking about shellac?
Buffing several very thin coatings of this 'nature product' into the wood and finaly applying carnauba wax is what many pipemakers do with their smooth pipes. The special shiny effect comes from the refractive index between the layers.
I have a pipe which has a transparent lacquer finish. It always looks glossy, dosn't need any wax but feels like plastic.
 
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