Stain coming off

[soylentgreen]

So I'm smoking/breaking-in a new Pete Bulldog 80s. It's a Kenmare with the orange (bengal?) stain. So far I've been very happy with it but...
I just smoked a half bowl of PA and my hand has an orange tint to it where I was holding the bowl. The pipe got warm, but not so hot that it was uncomfortable (I could have held it to my cheek no problem). I've certainly smoked "hotter" and had to rest a pipe (not this one), but this wasn't close to that. This was probably the 5th or 6th bowl in this pipe, and I haven't noticed it before.
If not normal, does this sort of thing happen from time to time? Should I wax it or something? Will it stop after the pipe is used more?

 

[eaglerico]

That is not normal. I would return to what ever retailer you bought it from. They should be more then willing to give you a refund or swap it out.
Def not typical of a Pete.

 

[tobakenist]

I second that but a waxing would help prevent this happening.

 

[olderthandirt]

Not typical but it does happen. Seems there were several instances of quality control issues I've read about over the last few years.

Most if not all have been supposedly addressed some time ago, but affected inventory is still going to be around for awhile.
Buff it well with a clean tee shirt and wax it if you don't want to try for a replacement.

While agreed, a person shouldn't need to take such steps with a new pipe, you should be able to correct this with minimal effort if you've a mind to.

 

[soylentgreen]

Can anyone point me to a good writeup on how best to wax a pipe?
Do I use carnuba car wax? Sorry for the dumb question.
And thanks for the tips. I'd rather fix it myself if I can. Might as well learn how, not getting younger.

 

[olderthandirt]

I tried a supposedly quality paste wax, just didn't really cut it. For working by hand, no buffer available, Paragon has worked well for me.
Here's an excerpt of an older post by excav8tor from, well, an older thread!
I used a Peterson SS 313 smooth to try the Paragon and a Peterson SS 364 to try the Halcyon II.
Putting the Paragon onto a smooth finish pipe is a dream. You do not need to use very much at all to give the whole pipe, including the stem and nickel mount. Be very very sparing. I left it to dry off for 5 minutes and then it polised by hand with a normal household duster cloth. The results are as good as buffing with Carnauba Wax, but with a lot less time and effort.
The Halcyon II was a little more difficult to apply, but no more than I expected since the problem lay in the rusticated finish and how to apply it evenly. I overcame this by using an old soft bristled toothbrush. Again, be very very sparing. After leaving it to dry for 5 minutes I then used a very soft natural bristled boot brush, making sure I brushed into all the nooks and crannies. I then finished off with a soft cloth. As with the Paragon, the results were very good indeed and infact better than using Carnauba wax and a mechanical buffer.
Remember:

Paragon - smooth pipes

Halcyon II - rustic/sandblast pipes
Overall impressions.

For speed and ease of use they are remarkable. Whilst the finish on the smooth pipes are similar, you don't get quite the same depth of shine as you do with Carnauba. As for Halcyon II, it far outstrips any mechanical methods of putting a shine on a pipe. You can get the wax onto the whole surface and you get no residual build up of wax as you do when you use Carnauba.

I will definitely use Halcyon II on all non-smooth pipe finishes from now on. As for the Paragon, well, if I have the time I will use Carnauba wax and mechanical buffers, however, if I have a quick job to do I'll use Paragon.

 

[iowamike]

The stain from my pete bulldog has been coming off for a year but its not losing any color.

 

[cyndi]

I've found that the red and purple hues tend to bleed quite a bit. One of our pipemakers addressed this in another thread, but it's pretty common. As long as the pipe isn't fading or losing color, it should be fine.

 

[vroomfondel]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. The same happened on a Stanwell Blowfish of mine, as long as the color doesn't fade you should be fine.

 

[admin]

Don't feel bad. I have that happening on two Dunhill Dress pipes that were made in 1980.
They have a solid black finish that is now 75% black, 25% brown.
This is an old photo where you can see some brown coming through on the rim. I don't have time to take a new photo right now, but that brown showing through has spread throughout the bowl - on two pipes.

 

[soylentgreen]

Thanks for all the stories. Made me feel better knowing that others have seen this happen (on a Dunhill no less).
Update: bought some Paragon and applied it. I like the stuff, reminds me of the "clear" shoe polish. Anyway it seems to help some with the bleeding although it isn't totally eliminated. In any case, it's no big deal I suppose.
-Wayne

 

[nsfisher]

1/3 of my pipes bleed as well. Just bought new 3dot brig the other day, that retails at P&C for 89.00 when not on sale. I didnt pay that much but anyway and it bled on second bowl full. I put virgin olive on all my pipes now

and no more bleeding

 

[shaintiques]

I buy carnuba in blocks on ebay and then use a buffing wheel on a bench grinder to apply it. You want to use pure solid carnuba.

 

[acme]

I think of two things.
First, there are resins or oils, that might dissolve the stain, that are bleeding from the pipe as it is heated. Means that the original block might not have been boiled well enough or long enough. Not much you can do about it.
Second, and I think most likely, anytime I apply stain to a pipe, there is always an excess that will come off. The excess is the portion of the stain that did not penetrate the wood and is sitting on the surface. It is normal. The problem, if indeed this is the problem, is that the pipe was not buffed adequately with the corser buffing abrasives, tripoly, for example. Most of the excess stains come off with tripoly, then less with white diamond, and the least with the wax. I keep two tripoly wheels. One is speifically for just-put-on-the-final-stain pipes. This tripoly wheel is multi-colored as a result. If I was getting color on my wax buffing wheel, I would know that I had been stingy with the time on the tripoly wheel.

So, if this is the problem, simply waxing, by hand or wheel, won't fix it. You need to step back to tripoly or the like, and go through the three buffing steps. Doesn't mean that you want to savage it, but be sincere. If you visit a brick-n-morter pipe shop, they may have the tools.
anthony