Refurbishing Question

[Donb1972]

Hi all!

I recently bid on a beautiful pipe on eBay and, as so often happens when I REALLY want something, A last second bam bid lost it for me. However, I found another cavalier, not quite as nice, so I got it.

It has some light dings(and the stem needs attention), so I decided to use it as a refurbishing project. My question is: I've never used micro-mesh pads, but bought a set to work with. Would those pads be enough to remove the finish and dings? Or would a regular sanding be required first? I know they work well on vulcanite stems, so I was hoping they would be enough on the body of the pipe, too.

I think I'm going to leave it unfinished when it's done. I do like the look and feel of raw briar.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

The pads might be a little too fine to remove the finish without tiring your fingers and consuming a lot of time. I don't think you'll remove dings. My pad set's coarsest grit is 1500?

 

[Donb1972]

The pads might be a little too fine to remove the finish without tiring your fingers and consuming a lot of time. I don't think you'll remove dings. My pad set's coarsest grit is 1500?

Thanks for the input. I was wondering if it would be too fine. For the dings, though, I just tried the washcloth and knife technique, and that seemed to do the trick on the largest ding(it's still visible if I look close, but it's nowhere near as obvious), so I'm not quite as concerned about them now.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Some forum members use a bic light to remove the dings in vulcanite. I'm not sure of the process, but remember seeing it mentioned.

 

[sablebrush52]

Dings in wood or dings in vulcanite? Some dings in the wood can be steamed out with a moist towel and an iron. A heat gun can help decrease the depth of some bite marks in vucanite. Micromish are best for removal of mouth crud on a stem and then polishing to a glassy sheen as you work through the level of grit.

 

[Donb1972]

Dings in wood or dings in vulcanite? Some dings in the wood can be steamed out with a moist towel and an iron. A heat gun can help decrease the depth of some bite marks in vucanite. Micromish are best for removal of mouth crud on a stem and then polishing to a glassy sheen as you work through the level of grit.

I did try the towel technique, and that seemed to work well. And the stem is not too bad. From what I've seen online, I think I can get it to a nice state.

I was mostly curious about removing the finish. I've seen conflicting statements about how well micro-mesh will work on the briar. Some say use dry, some say wet. The dings in the briar don't really bother me that much, but I didn't want to go overboard thinking the results should be more than they really would be...if you get what I mean.

And I was curious if the micro-mesh would be enough to remove the finish and bring it down to bare briar, which, I guess, it probably isn't. So I'm just hoping to achieve a nice shine.

 

[kcghost]

Auction Sniper is the only road to travel when biding on eBay. You will lose bids but you will never regret them. And if you are constantly being "out sniped" it means you are not bidding enough.

 

[jhowell]

Years ago when refinishing gunstocks, I came up with a better method of steaming dents instead of a damp cloth and iron. Put a drop of water in the dent and then touch the drop with a hot soldering iron (be careful not to touch the wood) - the resulting steam "explosion" does a good job of lifting the dent. Sometimes it helps to prick the insides of the dent with a fine sewing needle.

 

[mikethompson]

@Donb1972 micromesh is used primarily for polishing stems. If you are talking about removing 'chatter', the bite marks on the end of a stem, I would recommend heating the tip with a lighter and then poking them out with a pin from the inside.

 

[Donb1972]

Auction Sniper is the only road to travel when biding on eBay. You will lose bids but you will never regret them. And if you are constantly being "out sniped" it means you are not bidding enough.

I have won my fair share, it just seems the ones I would kill for are the ones I lose. And I might be willing to kill for a certain pipe...but I'm not willing to go over my monthly tobacciana budget for a single, used, pipe ? I'm used to it by now.

 

[Donb1972]

@Donb1972 micromesh is used primarily for polishing stems. If you are talking about removing 'chatter', the bite marks on the end of a stem, I would recommend heating the tip with a lighter and then poking them out with a pin from the inside.

I may try that as I become more confident in working with pipes. But for my first time, I think I will try to err on the side of caution. But thanks for the tip. I will keep it in mind.

 

[mikethompson]

I may try that as I become more confident in working with pipes. But for my first time, I think I will try to err on the side of caution. But thanks for the tip. I will keep it in mind.

Baby steps ?

You will get there

 

[kcghost]

When bidding on pipes the sensible thing to do is bid the absolute maximum you are willing to spend on a pipe. Whether you just bid or snipe this is the only course of action to pursue. Any other course will lead to virtually no pipes won or a serious case of buyer's remorse.

 

[Donb1972]

My first attempt on my Grandfather's Royal House ltd. A drug store pipe, I'm sure. But I removed the dents, cleaned it up, and then realised that I like the matte look. This pipe is nothing fancy, but it's a pretty piece of briar, no fills, and the matte look complements it nicely, in my opinion.

I still need to polish up the stem, but I'm waiting for some supplies to arrive.

 

[anotherbob]

well one piece of advice I've gotten is start with the least severe method first. OF course that's for cleaning things like carpets water, peroxide based cleaners, spot removers, encapsulation. But I'd try it and see how it goes.

 

[Donb1972]

I got my micro mesh pads and went to work on my test pipe: a Dr Grabow Silver Duke. The vulcanite was badly oxidised, and there was a small melted "pool" spot. All I can say is ~ wow! The pads got that stem looking like black glass.

So I started work on my cavalier. I followed the steps the guy on Reborn Pipes uses...scrubbing it down with Murphy's. And that is when I saw the burn spot. But it doesn't appear to be from inside ~ the pipe was reamed, and I don't detect any burn spot on the inner bowl. So I'm going to finish as if it is an outer burn of some sort.

It's not an expensive pipe, so it's not the end of the world if I'm wrong ~ but I LOVE cavalier pipes, and this is the only one I have. So should I do anything special to fix the burn?