Waxing the Pipe

[JackOrion]

Today I spent some time waxing 3 pipes. I used a furniture/floor wax made up of Carnauba and distilled pine resin…. gum turpentine along with petroleum distillates. It’s a paste wax that I’ve been using on my shop saw surfaces for decades.
After researching and looking into all of the different ‘pipe’ waxes that once were and currently available I decided to give this wax a go since I already had it on hand.
The application is completely by hand, but I can honestly say being a carnauba based wax a buffing wheel would take the polished sheen up a notch.
The 8s was polished and it’s easy to see the reflective difference from the unpolished 9b.
I also waxed up two Peterson terracotta pipes as well. One a 23’ gloss finish Squire and a satin 21’ deluxe 999. The 999 had terrible stain bleed off when new. It continually stained my hands when smoked. Waxing this pipe gave very satisfying results.
The wax I used has been on the market for quite awhile now. Initially it was Behlen ‘Blue Label’ paste wax. Mohawk has since acquired it and now distributes it. Still labeled Blue Label. I placed a call and the representative claimed it’s the same formula as they bought out Behlen.
Being Carnauba it’s a hard wax and thou it buffs out well by hand, it would definitely shine with a wheel.
I’ll continue to post pics.

 

[JackOrion]

This is the gloss terracotta Squire. A decent mirror for hand polishing.

 

[beefeater33]

When I was a young lad I waxed my pipe daily………
Now, not so much………

 

[Laurent]

Whose pipe are we waxing!? Pipes look good jack

 

[JackOrion]

Here’s the 3 taken with natural morning light. The ebony looks good at a distance but up close the high polish amplifies minor flaws. Apparently black dress pipes are one of the more difficult and time consuming finishes.
The terracotta 999 after 2 years of use without any protective coating has really lightened up. Its end grain has naturally taken the stain better and had I waxed it right away I would have prevented some of the rub off.
I’m going to next wax a Deluxe 999 Natural that has darkened and changed quite a bit within its 1 year of light use. For this one I’ll take before and after photos.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Nice work, and excellent photos.

 

[JackOrion]

In these 3 pics the left side is the waxed, 3 coats, the right is a before photo. I don’t think it matters though because the differences are pretty minor. In hand the waxed finish does show a bit more dimensional depth which is something this grain lacked.

I started this to see if a wipe on wax would be beneficial. I think it is, but more so in the protective coat it offers than visual enhancement.

My next step is going to be a bench buffer and a plug of pure carnauba.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

FWIW, I buy bulk flake carnauba from McMaster Carr and melt it in a pot and then pour it into an old non-stick muffin pan to make pucks. Works like a champ, a single puck will last a long time.

 

[King Bulldog]

I heard if you wax too much you'll go blind.