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I know there is an old post on this topic, but I'm too lazy to find it and my recollection is that there was no consensus in that post.

I have found that when I use Febing's red that it is not uncommon to get a little bit of red on my hands from the finished pipe. This seems to diminish after a couple of weeks. I don't know if the stain takes a while to set or if I am just rubbing off all of the "loose" stain.

I tend to stain black and sand back several times before putting a final color stain as a top coat (after sanding with 400 grit). I have tried wiping the top coat lightly with alcohol before buffing, but that just seems to dilute the color and I still get red staining on my hands after buffing.

Has anyone else experienced this? And does anyone have a solution?

I was thinking that burning off the alcohol after the red stain might help set the color. And darken it too, I think,
Any ideas?

Thanks,

Todd

Try hitting it with a heat gun, Todd, right after you apply the stain. Then, give it a night to dry even more beneath the surface.

I've never used that particular color of Fiebings, so this may not be a solution, but it cannot hurt.

I use Fiebings red all the time. I usually do the undercoats black or brown. I sand down to 600grit before I apply the red and while it is still wet I light the stummel on fire to burn off the excess. Before I buff I use 1500 grit lightly. The brown tripoli takes off a lot of red. I haven't noticed a problem using this procedure.

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help.

Maybe one problem is that I am not letting the stain dry long enough. I typically hit it with a heat gun and then go on to the next step. I figure that the stain is alcohol based and the alcohol tends to evaporate pretty fast.

Ocelot, how long do you let the stain dry after burning off the alcohol?

Todd

I've never let it set long. I have noticed that A LOT of stain comes off when I buff it. That also happens with green.

I wonder if climate plays a part in this.

The red does have "transferance" tendencies.

All you need to do with any of these stains is treat the pipe with a very thin coat of shellac - really thinned down. It will carry some excess, and seal up the rest pretty nice.

The worst in trying to buff it off is that you get your buffing wheels are bunged up with red (or green) and then you can't do clear or light finishes without getting dye in 'em.

Thank you Sas.

Todd

Not sure if they used Febings, but I have a red Svendborg pipe. After I smoke a pipe, I dump the ashes, put a little spit on a finger and clean off the rim. Every time I get a little red from that pipe and fear I'll one day have a stainless rim.

I get a lot of complements on that pipe, I hope it stays purdy f-o-r-e-v-e-r...