Salt n alcohol Sweetening treatment

[Viecco]

hey all again,

when i got my ooold pipes, begin to search a little on the web, and found something called the salt and alcohol pipe sweetening treatment, Just tryed it about 2 hours ago, but i think i used more alcohol than recomended, the salt is gettiing the color of the briar,,,,,is that good? is screwed it up??...

any comments welcome thx

 

[Natch]

Others smarter than I in this area will pipe in soon, but when I've done it, the salt/alcohol brine in the bowl turned a disgusting, foamy brown. So it might be right on target?

Natch

 

[Viecco]

hey my pipe kinda Shrinked, the Sshank wont fit in back.....any help? thx

 

[ftrplt]

Viecco, It sounds alcohol leaked into the shank from the bowl. When using this salt treatment, you must insert one, or more, pipe cleaners in the shank to keep the alcohol in the bowl. Pack the salt tightly and use a tiny amount of alcohol in the bowl. I use an eye dropper for this. I probably only put 5 or 6 drops in the bowl, depending on the bowl size. Do not let the alcohol get on the pipe finish or leak into the shank. Some pipes take more than one treatment, based on how dirty they are are.

Maybe one of our esteemed pipe repairers can help you more than I!!

Good luck....FTRPLT

 

[Justpipes]

You only need a few drops of alcohol. Do not force the stem back in the mortis. I use the treatment, and what I usually do is let the pipe sit for a couple of days before I put it back together. As Natch said the brown color is right on target. That means it is pulling the unwanted tar out of the briar.

 

[Smokey Joe]

For really dirty pipes , you have to do more than one treatment. Dark brown salt is a good sign because its absorbing the gunk. I use a few drops of good ol' fashion golden grain alcohol and it works like a charm. Don't forget to scrub the shanks good. A lot of nasty stuff collects down there over the years. irat:

 

[Anonymous]

Ditto on what Justpipes just said!...... the brown color of the salt means that the process is right on track!

 

[raftergtex]

Regarding the fit problem you are having, before doing anything I would wait and make sure it is not a temporary condition. It may be that the salt sucked some moisture out of the shank, and it will return to normal in time. If the problem persists for some time, then a tight stem can be remedied by taking a pencil and rubbing some graphite on the stem tenon. It should slip right in. If this is not enough, then you will have to sand either the tenon or the mortise. For the mortise (the hole where the stem fits), sand with some 320 grit paper wrapped around a pencil, or a drill bit of appropriate size, VERY gently, testing often. It would be easier to sand the stem tenon, but it will be hard to get it looking nice again (if you care about that) without some buffing equipment.