re-finishing stained meer bowl exterior

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londonmake

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2016
138
11
Hi there;

I figure this might be a good place to ask;

I found a great little meer bowl over the wknd at a flea market. The exterior of the bowl is stained and had some large areas that were very darkened, presumably from smoking.
Q:

Can a meer bowl be sanded down to clear up some of these stains, or will it always be in there because it was absorbed very deeply and can't be sanded away?
Thanks for any/all info

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
I'm not a meer smoker, but I thought that the developed coloration on meerschaums was desirable, permanent, and emerged through the entire material. I don't find it particularly attractive, but for meer smokers, I thought it was a plus, a patina that spoke of the pipes valued enjoyment.

 

xrundog

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 23, 2014
737
1
Ames, IA
It depends on the piece. Some meerschaums color nice and even. Others are blotchy and speckled.

 

londonmake

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2016
138
11
''It depends on the piece. Some meerschaums color nice and even. Others are blotchy and speckled. ''
Hi guys;

sorry i have not posted a pic, but xrun has described my bowl's coloring: blotchy, in a large uneven patch, mostly at the bottom of the bowl.
I tried Magic Eraser and sanding. I did succeed at lessening the darkness of the area, [perhaps] to the point of it being less ugly/obvious than it was originally. But it looks like the staining is in the material from the tobacco juices, which is, as we all know, totally normal. It just happened in a way that was esthetically ugh. At least I don't see it from the top!

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
I have got rid of random stains/marks/blotches on a few meers by using 1000 grit paper followed by a quick wipe over with an alcohol soaked rag.
Obviously regular patina stains are best left alone but for the stains mentioned above it works wonders.
Regards,
Jay.

 

gambit88

Can't Leave
Jan 25, 2015
341
2
Wipe the outside of the bowl with alcohol and then redip in melted beeswax. It'll pull out some hidden color. It may still be splotchy though as every meer is different. You probably wpuld want to stuff something in the bowl to avoid wax in the chamber.

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,077
Carmel Valley, CA
If you submerge the pipe in water for a minute, then take it out, the color starts to push out, and you can get a hint of how she will look with further smoking (with or without waxing- but do the water trick before waxing.)

 

londonmake

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2016
138
11
Thanks all for the info, Gents!
Right now, the bowl is with Mike Meyers for a stem.

Once it gets back home, I can finally post a pic.

 
Apr 26, 2012
3,350
5,154
Washington State
Do not use alcohol on the meerschaum as previously suggested. Water is fine but not alcohol. Waxing the pipe or even putting some lite olive oil on the pipe can help draw out the color. All meerschaum pipes color differently and most do not color uniformly. Over time the pipe will color all over and those blotchy patches will even out and color nicely. I would have just left the spots alone, because even though you may have sanded them away chances are the color will come back and fill in the same way.

 
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