Pipe Cleaning

[Anonymous]

I respect guys that own a collection that is well looked after...... Good on ya KAP!!!!
BOB Salute!!!

Last time I asked my dear wife to add a box of cotton swabs to the grocery list, she replied: "what, again!? do you eat Q-tips!?".

My next 'deep cleaning' I think will be on a small group of four pipes which I have dedicated to Virginia-Oriental blends (just finished up smoking a good amount of GLP Cairo in them), although I am once again running low on swabs ....

Kap I go through tons of Q tips..... especially in the refirb game........ busy here with some of Muddlers pipes!!!!
My wife says the same thing!!!


Two pipes just fully cleaned and restored.... a Butz Choquin and a Tsuge....... both pipes had the finishes on the outside redone.......

 

[Kapnismologist]

Two pipes just fully cleaned and restored.... a Butz Choquin and a Tsuge....... both pipes had the finishes on the outside redone.......

Beautiful; a level of professional work far beyond my homey abilities. That Tsuge Triangle is especially a sight to behold. Those who entrust their pipes to you for refinishing are indeed in good hands. Here's wishing you an endless supply of Q-Tips!

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers, and Thanks KAP!!!! :cheers: :cheers:

 

[Anonymous]

Remove any buildup from the rim, and lightly polish same with 800 grit sandpaper.

:lol: :roll: :x :no: :clown:

:face:

 

[Slow Puffs]

Beautiful work from the both of you .

I'm pleased with my "inside" work that for my circumstances is the most important, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not really set up to do much with the outside. How do you approach a rusticated or blasted finish?

 

[Kapnismologist]

Remove any buildup from the rim, and lightly polish same with 800 grit sandpaper.

:lol: :roll: :x :no: :clown:

:face:

Not quite understood? What the very fine grit sandpaper does (and I use it very, very lightly) is to remove any discolored wax/film underneath any buildup just removed. It never appears to really dig into the finish very much as such.

 

[Kapnismologist]

Beautiful work from the both of you .

I'm pleased with my "inside" work that for my circumstances is the most important, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not really set up to do much with the outside. How do you approach a rusticated or blasted finish?

No doubt, all the major work of my 'deep cleaning' regimen is on the internals (but I cannot figure out a good way to take a meaningful picture of the bowl chamber, or for that matter the mortise, to post). The exterior cleaning is very much a matter of superficial cosmetic refreshing.

As far as rough finishes, I've really never had a problem cleaning them up or hand applying and hand buffing with wax (Halycon 2 for blasts and rusticated pipes, it is a softer wax which is easier to work with than Paragon), although it does require the use of a soft toothbrush and sometimes some toothpicks to remove excess wax from the crevices - certainly takes longer than doing a smooth.

 

[Anonymous]

Beautiful work from the both of you .

I'm pleased with my "inside" work that for my circumstances is the most important, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not really set up to do much with the outside. How do you approach a rusticated or blasted finish?

I have access to a sand blasting box over at Jean du Toit (Jan Pietenpauw). Some pipes are blasted and full of muck. others just look bad stain wise. I often then give the pipe a light blasting and re stain and polish the bowl as with Muddler's Tsuge which was Black when it came in).

Some cheaper (smooth/polished) pipes are really bad and have varnish on them that chips off. Here the bowl is sanded by hand or blasted and stained again..... small putty fills are blasted out to fit in with the look.
Here is a pic of one of Muddler'd Duca Carlo pipes that was in bad shape. I decided to blast it! it looks better!

 

[Slow Puffs]

That's amazing . It would be interesting to see a picture of a "sand blasting box". I can't conceive of how it works but the results are awesome.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SP!!
the box is about 1meter by 1 and 1 meter high.
It has a door and window on the to to see in. The entire contraption is filled with sand and hooked up to a compressor with a gun. Similar to a spray painting booth but instead of paint, sand is used. Sand is blasted from the gun under high pressure which erodes the wood. The sand is contained in the box.

This is a fine art and it is easy to blast the pipe out of shape.
The big GURU's like Rad Davis, JT Cooke, Mark Tinsky etc have this down to a fine art...... When I grow up I want to do it just like them!!!!
Trust me ....... it's damn hard!

 

[Anonymous]

Not quite understood?

Understood well.

As basement commando vandalism.

If you don't care about the integrity of them, they're your pipes and no one else's affair.

But unless you're being buried with them, at some point, they're going to be moving on to whoever's next. As yard pipes.

With even rudimentary care, there is no need to be re-finishing pipe rims. Ever.

:face:

 

[Kapnismologist]

Not quite understood?

Understood well.

As basement commando vandalism.

If you don't care about the integrity of them, they're your pipes and no one else's affair.

But unless you're being buried with them, at some point, they're going to be moving on to whoever's next. As yard pipes.

With even rudimentary care, there is no need to be re-finishing pipe rims. Ever.

:face:

OK, sorry.

 

[Slow Puffs]

Thanks SP!!
the box is about 1meter by 1 and 1 meter high.
It has a door and window on the to to see in. The entire contraption is filled with sand and hooked up to a compressor with a gun. Similar to a spray painting booth but instead of paint, sand is used. Sand is blasted from the gun under high pressure which erodes the wood. The sand is contained in the box.

This is a fine art and it is easy to blast the pipe out of shape.
The big GURU's like Rad Davis, JT Cooke, Mark Tinsky etc have this down to a fine art...... When I grow up I want to do it just like them!!!!
Trust me ....... it's damn hard!

I wonder if anyone has and can find a video of this process. I used to play in a sandbox and walked on sand at the beach and I hit golf balls in and out of sandtraps but beyond that I can't visualize how that works on a pipe.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks SP!!
the box is about 1meter by 1 and 1 meter high.
It has a door and window on the to to see in. The entire contraption is filled with sand and hooked up to a compressor with a gun. Similar to a spray painting booth but instead of paint, sand is used. Sand is blasted from the gun under high pressure which erodes the wood. The sand is contained in the box.

This is a fine art and it is easy to blast the pipe out of shape.
The big GURU's like Rad Davis, JT Cooke, Mark Tinsky etc have this down to a fine art...... When I grow up I want to do it just like them!!!!
Trust me ....... it's damn hard!

I wonder if anyone has and can find a video of this process. I used to play in a sandbox and walked on sand at the beach and I hit golf balls in and out of sandtraps but beyond that I can't visualize how that works on a pipe.

:lol!:

 

[Anonymous]

hey, Judging by the cleanliness and Superb condition of KAP's pipes I think we can learn something from him......... Cut the guy some slack...... this BOB!!!!!! BROTHERS OF BRIAR...... remember!! :cheers: :cheers:

I have never seen a Sas 4 dot in that condition............ ever!!! those are pieces of Sculpture and rightfully so!!
:cheers: :cheers:

 

[Kapnismologist]

hey, Judging by the cleanliness and Superb condition of KAP's pipes I think we can learn something from him......... Cut the guy some slack...... this BOB!!!!!! BROTHERS OF BRIAR...... remember!! :cheers: :cheers:

Thanks Piet. That means a lot coming from a pipe restoration expert such as yourself. I was a more than a bit shocked and dismayed to see such a forceful and negative post on this otherwise very friendly and supportive board (the best on the net, in my opinion). I love my pipes and try to treat them with as much tender care as possible. This is my one hobby, and it keeps me sane (and there are of course always things to learn).

I do not think I have ever 'refinished' a rim; 800 grit sandpaper is very, very fine (almost like a polishing cloth), and I just employ it to very lightly (a few strokes back and forth) polish off any discolored wax laying under any buildup which I have just removed. Very seldom a rim might lighten just a bit, and I then apply just a bit of stain or oil to bring it back to the underlying color. I always rewax the rim along with the rest of the stummel when done.

Cheers.

 

[Anonymous]

It would have been unduly forceful were it not that a hundred or so new guys who probably saved for months to get a nice pipe were going to read that and figure that was how to treat it.

While it does sometimes happen that the accumulated crud can eat into the finish of the rim (which is a good reason to just keep it clean with saliva and a paper towel in the first place), it's not uncommon to clean an twenty-year accumulation off an ebay pipe -- carefully -- and find a pristine surface underneath it.

Abrasives are as far over the top as buffing a sandblast to "clean" it and turning a tooth-marked bit into a blob on a wheel.

:face:
UNREPENTANT *******

 

[Anonymous]

It would have been unduly forceful were it not that a hundred or so new guys who probably saved for months to get a nice pipe were going to read that and figure that was how to treat it.

While it does sometimes happen that the accumulated crud can eat into the finish of the rim (which is a good reason to just keep it clean with saliva and a paper towel in the first place), it's not uncommon to clean an twenty-year accumulation off an ebay pipe -- carefully -- and find a pristine surface underneath it.

Abrasives are as far over the top as buffing a sandblast to "clean" it and turning a tooth-marked bit into a blob on a wheel.

:face:
UNREPENTANT *******

Yak, you do have a very valid point there, And I too keep rims spotless after smoking a bowl or two in it for the day. I do not suffer any of that ill fate when it comes to my pipe rotations. Spit and polish is a wonderful cleaning agent indeed.
For one..... I do not do any of that to high ends or collectibles....... If you have a look I reffed to lower end pipes and seconds and only apply this technique with the clients consent in extreme circumstances.....other than that, all pipes are carefully hand cleaned with Pipe friendly media which are non abrasive.

 

[Slow Puffs]

Well, I'm getting there. My pipes have never been so clean, except when they were brand new. :lol:

I have left my Dunhills to the end. The inner parts are clean but I want to be extra careful with these.

I have made a resolution (one that can be too easily broken). From now on, I'll thoroughly clean each pipe after I have smoked it and am ready to put it on the shelf.

One new thing that I am going to do is to swab the bowl of the pipe with a paper towel after each smoke. I recall tj said he did this, perhaps even a finger swab in the bowl.

I am quite pleased with the shape of the stems after having used softie bits for the past two or three months. I believe they do help in keeping the stems clean as well as whatever else they do

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I'm getting there. My pipes have never been so clean, except when they were brand new. :lol:

I have left my Dunhills to the end. The inner parts are clean but I want to be extra careful with these.

I have made a resolution (one that can be too easily broken). From now on, I'll thoroughly clean each pipe after I have smoked it and am ready to put it on the shelf.

One new thing that I am going to do is to swab the bowl of the pipe with a paper towel after each smoke. I recall tj said he did this, perhaps even a finger swab in the bowl.

I am quite pleased with the shape of the stems after having used softie bits for the past two or three months. I believe they do help in keeping the stems clean as well as whatever else they do

Good for you SP!
3 cheers :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: