This seems to be a recurring topic of discussion lately...
The shiny areas are nitrocellulose lacquer. Alcohol doesn't dissolve nitrocellulose lacquer. Lacquer thinner or acetone softens and removes lacquer. Dampen a cloth with lacquer thinner and wipe away the old lacquer. Some of the stain will be removed with it. Stain is applied to raw wood, and a sealant, such as lacquer or shellac is applied over that.
I've read that some artisan makers use shellac (a thin cut) before final sanding as a sanding sealer. But shellac as a finish, generally isn't used, and hasn't been used, even on furniture, for over a century.
Some lower cost pipes are sealed with lacquer in order to present a shiny finish that is more durable than a regular wax finish which has to be maintained in order to look shiny.
Sanding will remove old lacquer too. However, most people are too aggressive when it comes to sanding wood, and it changes the geometry of the finished piece, usually removing any value, what little there is in the first place. There is no reset button if you sand and remove too much material.
Staining is an option once you have removed the old finish. But it does require some practice if you've never done it before in order to get good looking results.
