Stain too Dark on Rattray's Lowland

[CousinCRob]

Hey Everyone,

This past Christmas my father and I went to a pipe shop and bought each other pipes. The one I got was a Rattray's Lowlands with a beautiful dark green color. The problem is, the lighting in the shop was great so the stain looked great, but in anything less than pristine light it just looks black.
Is there a way to fix this? My very limited knowledge suggests just stripping the finish, sanding it just a touch, and reapplying a finish?

 

[workman]

It seems to me that there's a very small possibility of gaining very little and a very high probability of ruining the pipe.
So what if it isn't telling everyone it's green. You know it's green, and you can always get one of those St Patrick's pipes from Peterson if extreme greenness is important to you.

 

[mso489]

Actually, darkening green, or in this case darkened green, is a fairly standard problem. Some green pipe stain stays green. I have a Chacom straight billiard, made for but not stamped by Iwan Ries, and the green has stayed bright for about ten years now, as has an EWA churchwarden pipe. Apparently the French have a good formula for green stain. I think trying to bring back this green would be thankless, so I'd enjoy the pipe as "green ebony." It's like trying to brighten a wall that someone has painted black. It is possible, but a sinkhole for your time and effort.

 

[That Guy]

Kinda the same issue with this big Ben "jade". It's clearly not jade except for the bottom of the pipe which looks like green mold. It was an estate pipe that was unsmoked. It's smokes beautifully but the green stain was a fail from the factory. Maybe it was in direct sunlight or something? I have no clue.

 

[sasquatch]

Briar darkens with time and use, period.

 

[alaskanpiper]

As you said, If you are comfortable with it just sand it down a little bit using a very fine sandpaper and then refinish/wax it. A little sanding will lighten any stain.

Just be careful to do it uniformly and be very careful not to round any sharp edges like around the rim or shank end or it will be tough to get the stain to appear uniform.

worst case scenario you’d mess up, and have to sand it back down to briar then restain and wax. Which is not so tough either.

Those are the steps I’d take if it were mine, but I’ve done a bit of sanding/staining/waxing on estates so I’m pretty comfortable with it. If you’re not, a different (or no) course of action may be better.

thats my $.02

 

[ChuckMijo]

It’s probably dark for a reason. You maybe horrified what lies underneath. However sometimes you get lucky.

 

[hauntedmyst]

Before you sand, you could try submerging it in denatured alcohol for 5 to 10 minute periods and wiping it down with paper towels and seeing if the stain is lightening. Denatured alcohol won't ruin the stamping if used in short periods. If it works, great, then you can continue lightening it and re-stain. Use Fiebings Green, not Kelly Green as it's bright. If it doesn't work, then try sanding.

Heed Chuck's warning though. You may find it reveals a ghastly chunk of fill.