Polishing Rusticated / Blast Finishes: Have We Reached a Consensus?

[mikethompson]

I'm looking to give my Pete's (and a nice older Brigham for that matter) a good polishing and shining. Is there a wax or polish you guys would recommend? I'm looking for something relatively easy to get. I have a good wax for my smooth finishes, but im worried it will clump in the ridges and dips of a rusticated/blast finish.

What is everyone's recommendation?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Halcyon II would’ve been a common recommendation for rusticated and sandblasted finishes. It seems they might’ve gone the way of the dodo. Renaissance is used by museums and would be the closest formulation to Halcyon, and it’s easy to find in various sized tins.

 

[mikethompson]

Halcyon II would’ve been a common recommendation for rusticated and sandblasted finishes. It seems they might’ve gone the way of the dodo. Renaissance is used by museums and would be the closest formulation to Halcyon, and it’s easy to find in various sized tins.

This stuff Jeff?

 

[BCF]

This stuff Jeff?

View attachment 291219

That's it. A little goes a long way.

 

[Ahi Ka]

That stuff works well. I’ve found the best way is to warm the briar with a heat gun and it will soak in the polish. I then freeze the briar to lock it in the pores. You’ll never need to polish that pipe again

 

[jpmcwjr]

/Aside/. This may be the first topic where there could be a consensus.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

This stuff Jeff?

View attachment 291219

Yes, but there’s a 200 ml option on Amazon that I just added to my own cart for just a few bucks more than the 65 ml, that is a better deal (although, a little goes a long way and 65 ml might last quite awhile).

 

[dunnyboy]

Halcyon II would’ve been a common recommendation for rusticated and sandblasted finishes. It seems they might’ve gone the way of the dodo. Renaissance is used by museums and would be the closest formulation to Halcyon, and it’s easy to find in various sized tins.

These waxes do go a long way, especially when you rarely polish your pipes. I have half-full jars of Halcyon and Paragon that must be a decade old. I knew one was for rusticated finishes, the other for smooth, but I could never remember which was for which. I'm not sure it even matters but thanks for the clarification.

 

[dunnyboy]

That stuff works well. I’ve found the best way is to warm the briar with a heat gun and it will soak in the polish. I then freeze the briar to lock it in the pores. You’ll never need to polish that pipe again

Man, I'd love to see some examples!

 

[sablebrush52]

Halcyon and Paragon has indeed gone the way of the dodo. Fortunately I scored the mother lode on Halcyon and Paragon at the beginning of this week and just got in the box, so I'm good for longer than I'll likely be around. Before I got the tip on the Halcyon and Paragon, I bought a jar of Renaissance so I'll be trying out Renaissance.

The heating approach sounds promising and I'll give that a try sometime.

The way that I usually polish a sandblasted and/or rusticated surface is to apply a tiny amount of the wax to the tips of my fingers and palms, let it set up a bit, and hand rub the surface while it completes setting up. I get a brilliant gloss shine, much better than with a cloth, and it never builds up in the crevices.

 

[mikethompson]

/Aside/. This may be the first topic where there could be a consensus.

A forum first!

 

[Ahi Ka]

A forum first!

IBTL

 

[LotusEater]

I bought some Renaissance but the strong odor has me second guessing whether I want to put it on my pipes.

 

[craig61a]

I bought a big jar of Halcyon II maybe a year or two ago… good thing I did.

 

[mikethompson]

So Halcyon II is the best, but since we can't get that we use Renaissance?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I will be trying some different microcrystalline waxes in the coming month to see what I like.

 

[sablebrush52]

So Halcyon II is the best, but since we can't get that we use Renaissance?

Sure you can. A lot of people use it on their pipes. Try my method of application and you should be fine. I've used both Halcyon and Paragon on sandblasted pipes, hand rubbing them and they've both worked well. All these are pretty close to the same product.

 

[Hillcrest]

I couldn't get the halcyon or paragon so I bought the Renaissance. I use it to polish my smooth pipes then take the cloth and wipe down the rusticated usually after having smoked them when they're warm. I let them dry then wipe with clean soft cloth. Maybe once or twice a year. It takes longer to write about it or describe it than to actually just wipe them down.

 

[Mr_houston]

I also use REN Wax. I apply with a QTip to get into all the crevices. Buff with a cloth. Then buff the crevices with another QTip.

 

[kcghost]

We have something resembling a consensus.