pipemakersforum.com

I read here but, could not find it again where one particular well known pipe carver preferred Water Glass over any other
ingredient in bowls coatings and was wondering why. Not ever using a bowl coating I'm unsure that a chemical
that is used in sealing concrete and adhesives is such a good choice for a tobacco chamber. I would think and again, not knowing,
that sugar and charcoal/carbon would be much better and not leave a chemical taste. Please educate me.

Someone wants to open a can of worms!!!

Sodium silicate is tremendously effective protection against heat. It's pretty well inert, and it's not like you are eating the pipe anyhow.

Other guys prefer buttermilk.

Other guys prefer nothing.

Other guys prefer sugar solutions, ash mixtures, clay mixtures.... whatever.

I would suggest it's the least important choice you can make regarding your pipes.

Sasquatch wrote:Sodium silicate is tremendously effective protection against heat. It's pretty well inert, and it's not like you are eating the pipe anyhow.

Other guys prefer buttermilk.

Other guys prefer nothing.

Other guys prefer sugar solutions, ash mixtures, clay mixtures.... whatever.

I would suggest it's the least important choice you can make regarding your pipes.

Thank you Sas, What prompted my question is that I have a estate which has minor heat cracks in the base of the tobacco chamber
and I thought of applying a bowl coating to it to protect it from getting worse and was trying to make a decision on which to use.

I got my first Castello awhile back, packed it full of Carter Hall and smoked a real gentle bowl.

Next time up, I packed it full of Mac Baren Mixture Flake, sandblasted while I smoked, and burned the fucking bejeesus out of it. Spiderwebbed that sucker good!

434 bowls later, it's STILL just fine.

I wouldn't get too worried about those cracks.

Sasquatch wrote:I got my first Castello awhile back, packed it full of Carter Hall and smoked a real gentle bowl.

Next time up, I packed it full of Mac Baren Mixture Flake, sandblasted while I smoked, and burned the fucking bejeesus out of it. Spiderwebbed that sucker good!

434 bowls later, it's STILL just fine.

I wouldn't get too worried about those cracks.

Just wait until the 435th bowl!

Sasquatch wrote:I got my first Castello awhile back, packed it full of Carter Hall and smoked a real gentle bowl.

Next time up, I packed it full of Mac Baren Mixture Flake, sandblasted while I smoked, and burned the fucking bejeesus out of it. Spiderwebbed that sucker good!

434 bowls later, it's STILL just fine.

I wouldn't get too worried about those cracks.

I'm just very cautious seeing for the last 60 years I've been plague by "Murphy's Law"
434 bowls eh, let's see..........that's only about 217 days at 2 bowls a day. About 7 months, hmm....well if it aint burnt through by then I won't have a need for a bowl coating anymore I reckon.

Recon hell damn neer broke it.Smoke it, if it burns through, make anuther! :Nothing wrong with water glass, after it dries put your favorite jelly over it and smoke the hell out of it properly!

I would never put water glass in a new pipe's chamber, unless it's flawed and it has to be protected from fire.
Healthy briar needs no coating at all.

Yip, the can of worms!

BTW, I've ordered the Water glass, Pumice and Carbon and intend on giving it a coating.
It is not a pipe that I have carved, it's an estate pipe that can't be readily replaced and this is why I wish to do it.
Controversial or not, my pipe, my choice.

As for the original question, Todd Johnson did a comparative study on bare briar versus briar coated with the sodium silicate and the bare briar ignited much quicker than sodium silicate. I have heard enough horror stories of how people abuse pipes to see at least some value in the added layer of protection, especially on thinner-walled pipes.

As far as flavors are concerned, sodium silicate makes for a more neutral flavor compared to bare briar. With bare briar, you get that briar taste near the end of the bowl for the first several smokes.

I cannot comment to the relative efficacy of other bowl coating solutions because I have not tried them. I did have one pipe that came with a powdered charcoal in the bowl and got a mouth full of charcoal powder on my first puff. Don't do that.

I've also heard of issues with mold and foul taste as a result of organic substances being used.

I guess my bottom line would be that if you're going to use a bowl coating solution, make sure you try it out in at least a few ways.
1. Make sure it will still look good after it's been sitting for a couple of months without developing mold or cracking.
2. Make sure it's effective against burnout.
3. Make sure it doesn't have a foul taste.
4. Make sure you're not relying on bowl coating alone to keep your pipes from burning out.

Don't make your customers be your guinea pigs.

sandahlpipe wrote:As for the original question, Todd Johnson did a comparative study on bare briar versus briar coated with the sodium silicate and the bare briar ignited much quicker than sodium silicate. I have heard enough horror stories of how people abuse pipes to see at least some value in the added layer of protection, especially on thinner-walled pipes.

As far as flavors are concerned, sodium silicate makes for a more neutral flavor compared to bare briar. With bare briar, you get that briar taste near the end of the bowl for the first several smokes.

I cannot comment to the relative efficacy of other bowl coating solutions because I have not tried them. I did have one pipe that came with a powdered charcoal in the bowl and got a mouth full of charcoal powder on my first puff. Don't do that.

I've also heard of issues with mold and foul taste as a result of organic substances being used.

I guess my bottom line would be that if you're going to use a bowl coating solution, make sure you try it out in at least a few ways.
1. Make sure it will still look good after it's been sitting for a couple of months without developing mold or cracking.
2. Make sure it's effective against burnout.
3. Make sure it doesn't have a foul taste.
4. Make sure you're not relying on bowl coating alone to keep your pipes from burning out.

Don't make your customers be your guinea pigs.

I'm not going to coat the whole inside of the bowl, just the very bottom where the small cracks lay.
I'm hoping that this way if there is any off taste it'll just be in the bottom and that after a good cake is
formed over it will have served it purpose.

if you're just looking to protect the bottom bit, try the pipe mud
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/p ... giant-post

I put some in the bottom of a shop pipe I had shaped dangerously thin and after 30 or so lights it's pretty indistinguishable from a normal cake...... my 2 cents.....

seamonster wrote:if you're just looking to protect the bottom bit, try the pipe mud
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/p ... giant-post

I put some in the bottom of a shop pipe I had shaped dangerously thin and after 30 or so lights it's pretty indistinguishable from a normal cake...... my 2 cents.....

Been there done that on several which have substantial damage and it works well.
As I see it mud is great to build up a burnt away area, gouges or a tobacco chamber drilled too deep.
In this instance I need not build up anything, I just need a coating because the heat cracks are very small.
I'm sure the sodium silicate mixture will fit the bill well and keep it from progressing.
I appreciate the suggestions though.

I have a little "Scottie" pipe I started a few weeks ago that has quite a few flaws in the bottom of the chamber that run through to the bottom of the bowl....damn near whistles when you blow through it. I put a thin coat of water glass just on the bottom of the bowl and have been smoking the hell out of it since. No problems so far

scotties22 wrote:I have a little "Scottie" pipe I started a few weeks ago that has quite a few flaws in the bottom of the chamber that run through to the bottom of the bowl....damn near whistles when you blow through it. I put a thin coat of water glass just on the bottom of the bowl and have been smoking the hell out of it since. No problems so far

Thank you Scottie for the reassurement.

sodium silicate is some crazy stuff if you read the wikipedia. its used as an industrial high temperature component for coatings and adhesives, or was used in the pioneer days to preserve eggs for months. other big use is for turning into foam when it gets very hot for stuff like coating inside pipe sthat seal it off in a fire. try taking a propane torch to some dry water glass and watch it turn into foam. to prevent that it needs to get cured in an oven to take out all the moisture which matters if you're trying to use the stuff for things other than bowl coatings, like a safe high temperature glue. the white foamy effect can happen sometimes in a bowl coasting if you don't mix in enough carbon into it, i've seen bowl coatings get sort of a white film after drying. never tried mixing in pumice, maybe that helps? mixing real thick seems to get best result.

I've used it for many years. No problems with pipes burning out. I don't use the pumice, just powdered charcoal with the water glass.The only time I got the streaking , was when I got sloppy with the charcoal. After it dries, I blow through the pipe just in case anything is loose.