Pipes have no shine..

[Schubeck]

I have tried my hardest to get a deep shine on my pipes, and it does not seem to be working. All that I get is a little bit of a shine, almost a mat finish. The pipes are smooth, they have been finished off with 1000 grit sand paper. I apply Tripoli, then sand with 1000 grit, Then I apply the Carnuba wax. I am thinking that it is my buffing wheel that isn't doing its job. I bought the 6", 1/2 hp, 3600 RPM, Central Machinery buffer. It's a Harbor Freight special. I use a 4" single stitch cotton buffing pad when applying the carnuba wax to the pipe. I have tried the 6" buffing pad with a flannel finishing pad, and I still didn't have any luck. I appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Chris

[kbadkar]

You shouldn't sand after the tripoli. After tripoli, try another round of finer grit compound, like the white stuff (often called white rouge or diamond). The key to a great shine is proper and patient sanding through grit levels. Finishing with 1000 grit is fine, just make sure you have all scratches removed before you move on to the compound.

Your buffing wheel is too fast. With a 6" wheel, 1800 rpm is about right. Just a touch of carnuaba on the wheel is all you need. Do not overload wax on the pipe, it will not get more shiny. It will only become more matte with too much build up.

[KurtHuhn]

Kris hit on everything, I think.

The key to getting a good shine is thorough and proper sanding. If you don't sand well, you can't get a good final finish. For instance, using 220 grit, be sure that all 80 grit scratches are gone - and using 320, get out all 220 grit scratches. Patience and experience will be your guideposts - though using a light stain between grits will help immensely.

[SimeonTurner]

Tim West gave me some great advice for sanding a while back which echoes Kurt. If you put a light layer of stain (like a medium brown) on the pipe before you change to a finer grit, you will save yourself a lot of time in the long run. If you simply sand away the stain, you can be confident at that point that you have eliminated scratches from the previous grit, and then you don't have to keep sanding away hoping to eliminate more scratches that aren't really there (essentially micro-reshaping the pipe at that point). The time it takes to lightly stain and dry between sanding grits is more than made up for by the extra time you save in the actual sanding process (plus, you can get some mildly better grain "pop" with small undercoats of stain like that).

It sounds to me like the biggest issue for your matte finish issues though is the sanding after tripoli. If you go straight from tripoli to white diamond and then buff the carnuba, you should be in good shape.

As another thought, you could take it one step further to really get a nice shine. Sand/stain all the way up to about 600 grit (or higher if you like) and then brush on a super-thin coat of Shellac. Let it dry until it is really cured well (I would just go overnight). Then, lightly sand at an even finer grit than your previously highest grit (super light touch here). Then buff with trip, white diamond, and wax. That should make it look like you dunked it under water.

Shellac. Controversial but awesome (IMHO).

[kbadkar]

I should add that going up to 1000 grit is fine, but not necessarily necessary. I only sand up to 600 now before the compound and get acceptable results. I know a few pros here in the forum do the same... yet, there are others that insist on wetting the pipe to raise the minute wood hairs and sand to insanely fine grits. It's a 'controversial' subject and just about every pipemaker has a different sanding routine, but in the end it's about results. Experiment a bit and draw your own conclusions about what sanding process gives you the best finish.

[Sasquatch]

Your pipe should be "shiny" before it ever gets waxed. If you go through the grits really well, you should have a pretty well finished pipe. I get acceptable results if I sand at 180, stain, sand at 220, stain, sand at 320, stain, and hit the tripoli wheel to rub out the 320 marks (and my 320 pad is pretty worn so it may be acting more like 400). I use a stitched wheel for the tripoli at this stage. After that, the pipe is shiny, with no streaks or fine cuts visible. But this whole exercise is one in learning to sand really thoroughly. If there are marks left from the higher grits, they'll show up with each successive stain.

Sanding with 1000 grit paper is probably not all that helpful in the first place if your tripoli compound is 800 grit or so.

[LexKY_Pipe]

Along with all the good advice that's been given here, be sure to use a light touch on the buffing wheels. You already have sanded to a nice finish. You don't want to score what you've done with a heavy hand on the wheels. Especially in using the white diamond polish and the carnauba wax.

[Chris Morgan]

Schubeck--- What color or "grit" is your primary tripoli compound? I use the dark green/grey which, for me, allows me to sand to 600 then tripoli then diamond white ... and so on.. If your tripoli is too coarse that will definitely gice you a matte finish. In my first few pipes I was sanding to 800 grit, then using a coarser tripoli then diamond white. The trick is bridging the gap properly. If you leave too much "grit room" between your sandpaper and tripoli or your tripoli and diamond white compound, your finish will not look as glassy and clear. Speed is another huge problem I had in the beginning. 1600 rpm motors tend to be harder to find and a little more expensive, but that is a tried and true speed. Another little trick I picked up from my other wood related hobbies is "wet sanding". I know it sounds silly, but it will produce clean base stain jobs, while allowing micro sanding. Make sure you let the pipe dry for a few hours or a day afterward.

[jeff]

Buffing compound grits vary by supplier. I only use Matchless compounds and have been very satisfied with their products. All of the green compounds that I've seen or used are in my opinion too aggressive for briar if you are sanding to 400gr or higher. You may actually be going backwards when you use it. Most folks use green (from most suppliers) for an aggressive first clean of heavily oxidized stems.

I sand to 400gr with wet/dry paper, stain, buff with Matchless red tripoli to remove the stain, sand to even out the stain, add top coat, buff with Matchless white diamond, apply wax, and then even things out with a dry flannel wheel.

My tripoli wheels are ~10" and spin at about 1200rpm. I'll speed them up or slow them down depending on the application, but most things get buffed at 1200. Wax is applied at about the same speed, though I'm not sure. If you buy the Beall Wood Buff system (which I would highly recommend) you'll find all of the necessary wheels included along with a motor arbor and buffing compounds. Scour ebay or Craigslist for 1/4 or 1/3hp single phase motors spinning at ~1725rpm and you should be fine.

Best of luck,

Jeff

[jeff]

Here's a good example:


http://cgi.ebay.com/1-3-HP-1140Rpm-GE-M ... dZViewItem

[RadDavis]

Here's a good example:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0430021651

Of a motor??

Rad

[jeff]

Whoops! Nope, that's an example of a well buffed and shined pipe.

[RadDavis]

Whoops! Nope, that's an example of a well buffed and shined pipe.

Hmmmm...... I wonder what motor he uses?

Rad

[Schubeck]

My Tripoli compound is a maroon/brown color. I bought it from the WOODCRAFT store near my house. I haven't thought of doing the wet sanding on my pipes. I was really big into doing body work on cars a few years back to I have a lot of experience in wet sanding. I appreciate all the help on this. Hopefully my next pipe will turn out alright.

[LexKY_Pipe]

What you bought is called red tripoli and it's considered about 320 grit. Green tripoli is also good for the polishing process and i believe it's 220 grit.