Recently purchased a jeweler's buffer...

[Corncobcon]

...now what do I do with it? I'm almost afraid to try it out on some pipes? I have some old pipes that need cleaning. I've done some reading about buffing and found that I need both white and red waxes. Can I use these on the stems also? I guess I should have purchased the waxes and a couple more wheels at the time I got the buffer. Do you use buffers?

 

[Ocelot55]

You can screw up a pipe in a hurry with a buffer. I've buffed thousands of pipes during my time in the industry. I don't know much about your buffer, but most guys use red tripoli, white diamond, and finish with carnauba wax.

A couple of tips:
-if your buffer spins at 3600rpm it's no good for pipes. That is much too fast. Around 1750 should be the target area.
-You must have two hands on the pipe at all times!
-NEVER buff the stem separate from the pipe.
-There is such as thing as too much buffing.

In my experience most DIY guys do more harm than good to their pipes when they try and buff. There is a technique to it not easily taught. For maintenance a light buff is perfect to remove light oxidation from the stem, but restoring a pipe should be left to the professionals.

 

[Corncobcon]

Thanks for the tips. My buffer is a Rand variable speed, so I think I'm ok with the speeds. I have several cheaper Casseloni and Weber pipes that I will work on first. If I screw one of them up, I won't be too disappointed.

By the way, those new BRB bamboo pipes are awesome!

 

[Ocelot55]

Yessir, best way to learn is just to go at it with cheap pipes until you get a feel for things. I learned on a bunch of old Yello Bowls, Medicos, and Grabows. I've got a pretty good record of not screwing things up too much, but even with a ton of experience I still manage to break or irreparably damage 2-3 pipes per year.

Thanks for the compliment on the BRB bamboos. I worked really hard to make a high quality bamboo pipe that most guys can afford. We'll see how they do.

 

[Carlos]

Amazing how quickly a buffer can grab an edge and toss a pipe across the room before you realize it.

 

[ontariopiper]

Amazing how quickly a buffer can grab an edge and toss a pipe across the room before you realize it.

^This. Don;t ask how I know.... :affraid:

 

[Blackhorse]

I used to be the Lab Assistant for the Jewelry & Metalsmithing Lab at Portland State University. That’s just to let you know I speak from a fair level of experience.  So...first: good that you have a variable speed machine...use low rpm’s on wood. Especially when applying carnuba wax. Second: a buffer can eat a stem in just a moment, esp. plastics, not counting ripping it from your grasp and flinging it across the room at three thousand miles per hour where it explodes against the first solid thing it meets with a loud and festive explosion of little bits of Briar. It’s always a shock cause you always think you’re in control. That illusion can be quickly destroyed...along with the pipe. Be exceedingly cautious. Third: go slow...very slow. Use very light pressure. Let the buffing compound do the work. If you find yourself pushing the piece into the wheel harder and harder...stop immediately. Very short and soft passes are what works.

Long hair and a buffer should keep each other far apart.

Ocelot is a pro. Do whatever he says.

Of interest perhaps...let’s say you’re buffing a silver ring. You get it nicely polished via a succession of finer and finer grit buffing compounds. You’re using rouge as a final step. So...it’s kind of the general perception that you’re taking down the surface removing first coarse then finer and finer scratches...like you did with finer and finer abrasive papers. But when you get to the final stage, the compound is creating high friction against the metal...actually MELTING the top molecules of the metal to create that mirror finish. That’s just to let you know how hot that SOB can get. You’re producing significant localized heat...and it happens very quickly.

Wood is kind of different. There you’re taking off coarse and then finer and finer scratches til the surface is uniform. Then with the wax you’re melting the carnuba onto the surface via the heat friction of the wheel.

Slow...very slow.

Keep your buffing compounds well separated.

Live long and prosper.

Use the force. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

 

[hobie1dog]

Lots of great YouTube videos on how to do it.

 

[huffelpuff]

Absolutely no long hair, lose clothing or for heavens sake a neck tie anywhere near the machine even if it's off!!!!!! You can and will lose body parts if you are not careful!

Jim

 

[Zeno Marx]

In my experience most DIY guys do more harm than good to their pipes when they try and buff. There is a technique to it not easily taught. For maintenance a light buff is perfect to remove light oxidation from the stem, but restoring a pipe should be left to the professionals.

Indeed. Fact. It's amazing how many people ruin pipes; some who have been in the pipe game for a while. There's no telling how many Charatan DC and Peterson P-lip stems have been deformed and ruined. It's sad. Very sad.

Yessir, best way to learn is just to go at it with cheap pipes until you get a feel for things.

This. THIS. And if you aren't the most patient person willing to hit that learning curve with practice pipes and time, at least heed this advice:

Slow...very slow.

also, keep your wheels clean. A little foreign something or other that luck has it is harder than your wood or stem, and you find a mess of scratches and marks not so easily remedied.

Time and patience are your best friends. Light hands and making very small headway at a time. Very small incremental headway. Be wary of trying to be a perfectionist. When you get close, stop. Once you take it off, there's no putting it back. If in question, less is better. Don't be afraid to touch the wheel for just a moment. Look at your pipe. Again. Again. Again. 50 moves is smarter than one or two moves.