Buffer and wax for pipe restoration?

[conroygc]

Hey all,

I picked up a few estate pipes recently that are in need of a good polish, so it's time to invest in a good buffing system. I don't have anything of that sort, so I'm starting from scratch, hence a few questions.

What kind of buffing wheel?
Do I need anything beside a drill to use it in?
Carnauba wax...Most of the stuff I see is for cars. Is this the right stuff or do I need something else?
Lastly, does the Carnauba wax sold with Walker Briar Work's stem repair kit work for the briar as well?

 

[Kentos]

I had good luck with the softest floppy wheel you can get. I think they use the flannel ideally.
I think if if its a normal plug in drill it should have enough speed to melt and buff the carnauba. If its a cordless, it may not have enough oomph to melt the hard wax.
You need the hard bar of 100% carnauba. It feels like a piece of plastic in hand, and smells vaguely sweet to me.
I would assume the carnauba in that kit should work fine with briar, but drop him an email, he's nice people.

 

[joshua1970]

you want a muslin wheels (preferably a sewn muslin wheel) to apply the tripoli compound (white) carnauba wax (brownish tan) and a plain flannel wheel to polish the wax - and you want the hard sticks of carnauba wax not the auto stuff.

they should be available at various online shops... think Pimco has em pretty cheap

and ideally you want a motor that goes 1,200-2,000 RPMs. NOT 3600-4500 like most buffing motors.

grainger had some available years ago, likely still do.

enjoy and remember to HOLD THE PIPE TIGHT!!! and avoid any edges hitting the wheel directly - ie hold the edges away from wheel so it hits it right - or it WILL go for a ride (and very likely break)

added: if you use a drill, again keep the RPMs low and use a vice to hold the drill (or pipe if you prefer lol)

 

[conroygc]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm heading over to home depot now to see what I can find. Wish me luck (I'll need it).

 

[jwhite]

Some good suggestions here. I use an older low powered 6" bench grinder fitted with buffing wheels with a rheostat outlet for variable speed but to be honest I usually let it go full speed at about 3000 RPM. Its an inexpensive option that fits my shop and does everything I need it to do. For pipes I like to stack three loose flannel wheels per side, some models might only fit two, per side to give a nice wide buffing surface. wax on on one side dry on the other. I buy Carnauba in its minimally processed flake form to make it easier to weigh and measure for making paste waxes and other finishes. For the buffer and applying wax directly to pieces on the lathe I got three of the melt and pour twist up shave stick containers you see at the shaving retailers and filled them with melted wax. One is pure Carnauba, one is pure bees wax, and another is a mix of the two.

 

[conroygc]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

James, that sounds like the setup I'm looking for. I was looking at the pure carnauba wax on ebay in the flake form, wondering if that was the right stuff. I'm going to pick up a bench grinder sometime this weekend and I'll have to order the buffing wheels and wax online.

Regarding the Bees wax, Carnauba wax and mixed, which wax do you use for what?

 

[Kazeryu]

Just as an FYI, I'm pretty sure the WBW Stem repair kit's bottle'o'wax contains a bit of turpentine to make hand-buffing possible. I think it would make a poor combination with a real buffing wheel.

 

[Price]

Just as an FYI, I'm pretty sure the WBW Stem repair kit's bottle'o'wax contains a bit of turpentine to make hand-buffing possible. I think it would make a poor combination with a real buffing wheel.

I've had no problem with the wax from the Walker kit using a Dremel. I'm hoping to trade up in equipment once I get settled in here, but that's worked fine thus far.

 

[jwhite]

I use waxes based on desired finish for anything really. If I were to take a pipe down to bare wood because it had been painted or some exterior damage I wanted to remove I'd refinish with a oil pure tung oil or boiled walnut oil alow to cure for a week or two and wax with beeswax for a med/low gloss, the mix for a semigloss, and caurnauba for a deep gloss. I don't use bees wax on its own on pipes typically but oil immediately followed by bees wax as a friction finish on the lathe or buff makes a handsome soft finish on many wooden pieces.