Quick Cleaning Question...

[cthulhu]

When I smoke I always end up getting a bit of buildup/blackening on the bowl rim. I was planning on lightly cleaning the rim with alcohol and then applying carnuba over the entire bowl. Is this the best solution or is there a better way?
Thanks

 

[matchstickman]

If youre just looking to get rid of some slight rim char after every smoke, some good old saliva on the end of a q-tip works really well with just a little elbow grease. Now if you have some serious char buildup, heres my secret: Take a shank brush and dip it in some really hot water, then scrub away. 10 minutes of work and that rim char will be gone.

 

[ejames]

For a quick cleaning after a smoke I spit on a Q-tip and wipe the rim. Alcohol may take out some of the stain.

 

[tokerpipes]

Yeah dont mess up the stain/ finish on the bowl a little spit and elbow grease works fine. If its rusticated use a brush. old toothbrush or shank brush works great.

 

[pawpaw]

belt sander with 40 grit will do wonders

 

[cthulhu]

Thanks. Ill see how it works!

 

[spartan]

Also when you need to relight you can lick a finger and coat the top of the bowl in saliva to help prevent any rim char.

 

[cthulhu]

I have a pipe with charring on the rim. Is this fixable?

 

[spartan]

Scrub with water and a Q-tip til it comes off. If it doesn't... I don't know what to tell ya.
If it's real rim char then the wood is burnt, and that doesn't come off.

 

[mjtannen]

I use lemon juice on the rim of my pipes as part of my regular cleaning routine. I place a few drops on a paper napkin and rub it in. Then I rub another clean napkin with a few drops of tap water to remove the lemon juice. I find that it works better than spit to maintain clean rims. If the rim is already burned then sand paper is the only remedy to get down to fresh wood.