Phil's pipe restoration trial or "Look, another rabbit hole!"

[luvmysuper]

Phil, I know you're kind of a handy guy, if you start reading the restoration stories on that site, you'll be done for. Here's one for a pipe I just bought for them. Fascinating what one can do with an old beater.

Parker of London Bark 576 – rebornpipes

Posts about Parker of London Bark 576 written by rebornpipes

rebornpipes.com

View attachment 1368975

You got me hooked.
I picked up a couple of pipes today, a hand made Stanwell selected briar 36 apparently by Sixten Iversson, a GBD virgin 9487 and a Sasieni Royal Stuart 93S. Apparently Royal Stuart is considered a Sasieni second.
From a couple of websites I have pics of how they "ought" to look:

The Stanwell

The GBD

and the Sasieni

They don't look like that right now, but they are not in bad shape and I got them pretty cheaply at $70 for the bunch.

I honestly just selected these because I like the shape and style.
So - next stop, the restoration thread and I'm off!

Thanks a lot John for sucking me into this whirlpool!

 

[JCinPA]

@luvmysuper Happy to be an enabler, sir! Sixten Ivarsson is super famous in the pipe world, and GBD pipes, in my experience, are outstanding values. The proportions of the Sasieni don't call to me, but it is handsome, nonetheless. That's a terrific lot for $70!

Be sure to check out that lighter oxidation link, it seems to be a game changer, and if the rebornpipes guys are selling the method, you can be assured it works. That site is a wealth of information on refubishing pipes. Have fun!

A BIC lighter and Oxidation

Blog by Rob Hardy and Steve Laug Thanks to a serendipitous discovery by a friend of mine, Rob Hardy (incoinnu on Smokers Forums), who also does refurbishing as a hobby we have worked out a very dif…

rebornpipes.com

I've seen some results of the method on pipemagazine forum and it's amazing. Can't wait to try it. I'm going to work on #2 this weekend.

 

[JCinPA]

Oh, forgot, Phil, if you have a buffer, great, but if you get these little sanding pads, you may not need one. My first project was all by hand. The CIF cream, I think, is for cleaning glass induction cooktops, but it works well. So does Flitz.

Micro sanding pads:

https://www.amazon.com/Sanding-Stopper-Polishing-Perfect-Materials/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=micro+mesh+sanding+pads&qid=1638536106&sr=8-6

A double set is also available. I wrote the grits on them with a sharpie. Those and a selection of wet/dry papers from about 220 to 800, and you're all set. And microfiber towels.

I've also had good results using that Howard Butcher block conditioner (mineral oil, beeswax, and carnauba in liquid form) but I have some Halcyon II and Paragon wax to try now. I'm still trying to avoid the buffer, but may yet get some cotton wheels for my DeWalt VS drill.

 

[luvmysuper]

A BIC lighter and Oxidation

Blog by Rob Hardy and Steve Laug Thanks to a serendipitous discovery by a friend of mine, Rob Hardy (incoinnu on Smokers Forums), who also does refurbishing as a hobby we have worked out a very dif…

rebornpipes.com

I tried it this morning.
A couple of things to say.
1. It does work
2. If you have a stamp, such as a logo or "hand cut" etc., this method probably shouldn't be used as it severely reduces the clarity of the stamp.
3. This is for a very patient man, and should be done in very short steps in very small areas. Heat, wipe, heat wipe. Small area at a time.
4. Though I didn't burn the stem, it's easy to see that over application could cause burning of the vulcanized stem.
5. Flat surfaces are more amenable to this than curved ones. If you have a saddle mouth piece, the transition from saddle to stem is more difficult to get even results.

So overall, I may use this to "reduce" the oxidation rather than try to remove it completely. I think combining this with some buffing and light surface work would be best.

A thought is that it is the heat that is removing the oxidation, rather than the physical contact with the flame. To that end, if one could determine the correct temperature at which the oxidation process is reversed, a safer method might be to heat the entire stem in a controlled temperature oven with the stem sitting on a prong type stand, with the prong inside the stem to allow even application of the heat as shown below.
The problem is determining what is the correct temperature and the duration of exposure to that heat.
I may grab a few really bad cheap pipes to experiment with this.

 

[luvmysuper]

Clearly, the Oxiclean method works, as evidenced by my first attempt. But it will roughen the stem a bit. However, when I went over it again when I got my little sanding pads, it was not that onerous. About a half-hour with the CIF cream and t-shirt after the 12000 grit was all it took. Thanks for writing up your experience with this!

I took my Fluke with the thermocouple attachment and did the bic lighter under the thermocouple the same way I did the stem, and the max temperature I hit was 303 F.
My oven has a minimum of 350 F, so putting one in at 350 for maybe 15 seconds and checking, going back and rechecking every 15 seconds seems like a plan.
Now I just have to get a really crappy stem to play with.

P.S. Don't tell my Mrs. that I'm going to put an old pipe stem in her oven.

You guys are taking this to another level! I usually just clean them up and smoke them. I don’t really even try to get the stems back to a glossy shine. I just get them looking good enough that someone doesn’t go “ewww, you’re gonna put that nasty brown pipe stem in your mouth?” I’m gonna have to up my game.

This is B&B, if we don't don't go into painstaking minutiae on every detail we'd be letting you guys down!

 

[luvmysuper]

Ok, I've got some before pics to share for comparison as I go.
Quite a lot of oxidation on the stem, and the pipe is very dirty.
The GBD

And how it's supposed to look

 

[luvmysuper]

The Stanwell. Also a lot of oxidation. The stem is just this nasty dull brown.

And how it is supposed to look

 

[luvmysuper]

Finally, the Sasieni. It isn't really apparent from the photos, but again, the stem is just covered with brown oxidation and chew marks.

And how it should look

 

[luvmysuper]

So I went to work first on the stems.
Using the method described by John, I used the Bic lighter heat treatment to reduce oxidation. I didn't go too far with it, because I can see that this method, though quicker - is rife with peril. A moment too long and you will burn your stem.
The Sulphur smell from heating is very pronounced.

After reducing the worst of the oxidation, I soaked for 30 minutes in oxi-clean, and then scrubbed them with magic erasers to remove the yellow brown surface loose oxidation.
I repeated that 4 times until virtually all of the oxidation was gone, or so far gone that you had to look really hard to see that the stems were still not fully black.
The oxi-clean works, and I think that removing the surface material that is loose and re-soaking is as effective as soaking overnight as the surface is exposed to the cleaning solution and it doesn't have to soak through the surface material.

The stems were pretty rough, not porous, but a very flat, matte finish.
I took them to a cotton buffing wheel on a variable speed dremel and polished them with Maguiars polishing wax. It's a mild rubbing compound with a cleanser that works very well and doesn't scratch. I have used it on cleaning and polishing painted tools. It is used primarily in auto body paint restoration.

By now the stems were back to full black color, with a better than satin finish, almost glossy - but not quite there yet.
I used Poly Watch and a microfiber towel to buff the stems up and get a nice glossy finish on them. Poly Watch is a plastic polish used to remove scratches from plastic watch faces and can also be used to restore CD's and DVD's.

 

[Kentos]

Gee Phil, I did not know you partook in the Brown Leaf!

 

[luvmysuper]

So, here are some pics of the stems before and after for comparison.
Now on to the pipes themselves!

 

[luvmysuper]

Gee Phil, I did not know you partook in the Brown Leaf!

@JCinPA sucked me into this pipe restoration rabbit hole. It's actually a lot of fun, I'm enjoying the process.
I don't know if I will be smoking a pipe, I am completely clueless as to what to smoke and how, but I'm not adverse to the idea, in fact, it seems like a better idea the more I think about it.
It's just going to take some learning on my part to be able to do so with good results!

 

[Kentos]

@JCinPA sucked me into this pipe restoration rabbit hole. It's actually a lot of fun, I'm enjoying the process.
I don't know if I will be smoking a pipe, I am completely clueless as to what to smoke and how, but I'm not adverse to the idea, in fact, it seems like a better idea the more I think about it.
It's just going to take some learning on my part to be able to do so with good results!

Well you know where to go to get some samples….

 

[Whisky]

So, here are some pics of the stems before and after for comparison.
Now on to the pipes themselves!
View attachment 1372329

View attachment 1372330

Daaang!
Those look great!

 

[luvmysuper]

Daaang!
Those look great!

I was pretty pleased considering it's my first attempt. The pics don't show it, but they really do look brand new.

 

[JCinPA]

Wow! Superb! The lighter trick is also reputed to be good for raising the tooth chatter. Can’t wait to see the stummels. Got some Murphy’s oil soap?

 

[luvmysuper]

Wow! Superb! The lighter trick is also reputed to be good for raising the tooth chatter. Can’t wait to see the stummels. Got some Murphy’s oil soap?

Yes I do!
Just finished the cotton ball alcohol soak, so I'll hit the Murphys tomorrow.
Not a lot on the cotton balls, but they were caked pretty bad, so I reamed them first.

 

[Whisky]

I don't know if I will be smoking a pipe, I am completely clueless as to what to smoke and how, but I'm not adverse to the idea, in fact, it seems like a better idea the more I think about it.

Even if you don’t end up smoking them you can still admire the craftsmanship that went into making them. One of my favorite pipes is a terrible smoker, but the unknown person who carved it was truly an artist.

 

[luvmysuper]

Ok, until my obsidian oil, carnauba and Paragon wax come in I am done with these three. It was a lot of fun.

Here's the Stanwell before, after and as represented as new.

Here's the GBD before, after and as represented as new.

Here's the Sasieni before, after and as represented as new.

 

[JCinPA]

Wow! Your first attempt was better than my first attempt, bravo! Mine actually got better once I got my little sanding pads and wax, but you were certainly quicker.

That Stanwell is really handsome. And something about square or diamond shanks just calls to me, the GBD is great as well. And that's a masterful job of getting the lava off the rim of the Sasieni! I forget if you have a buffer, I think you do. I don't, but you may want to try a little buffing on those if you do have one.