I'm going to have to try the coffee/tea solution. Hmmm. I don't have to tell anyone the care we must take in lighting our pipes. I see too many pipes where the smoker was obviously right-handed, because that side of the rim will be charred. I usually start with moist paper towel, then to the AWESOME cleaner and toothbrush, then to AWESOME and 1500-grit sandpaper, then to 190 proof and sandpaper. By that point the finish might be affected. Depending on what I'm doing to the rest of the pipe, I might touch up the rim with a little leather dye, then buff it and wax it. (Sometimes buffing alone will return the color.) In extreme cases, with a very damaged rim, I'll sand the damage away by a millimeter or two, then buff and wax. Did I say "wax"? I think of wax as a protective coating, and as I cycle through my smoking pipes, I will clean and re-wax them, especially the rim.