finishing: I'm lost...

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
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marks
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Post by marks »

For what it is worth, I have shellaced one of my pipes, and it is the best smoking pipe I have made (by the way, I've got to give a thumbs up to Mark Tinsky for the briar). Maybe I got lucky, but it smokes better than pipes I paid hundreds of dollars for. I loaded it up with some C&D Briar Fox for the ride home from the TAPS show on Saturday, and I was again rewarded with a remarkable smoke.

I also own a particular brand of pipe that I know the maker uses shellac on all his pipes (he told me so personally). His pipes smoke like a dream, and I plan on obtaining others of his when I can afford them (they are expensive, but well worth it).

There are a lot of beliefs in the pipe collecting world that are not based in fact. In my opinion, this is one of them. I don't know how shellac got such a bad reputation (it was before my time) but maybe people don't understand the difference between lacquer and shellac, and assume that it is all the same. Unfortunately, perception is often more real than fact.
Archer
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Re:

Post by Archer »

bscofield wrote:
Sand to the highest grit you desire.
Stain
Buff with white compound
Shellac <-- extra, and controversial step
Buff with white compound
Buff with carnauba
Buff with a clean, dry buff
Is the white compound and shellac (might not do this on my VERY first pipe) and carnauba something I can get localy (Lowe's, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby)? Or should I just order from Pimo??
[/quote]

Heck of a way to make an intro, but thats how I roll...Im your newb member folks, I dont claim to be anything but I love my garage and hate my wife, so I should be a regular here...(j/k on the wife part, but I do love my shop)

Bumping an ancient history post here, but it is worth noting what I have found...

Regarding something I read in another post I think it was Kurt that said it...roughly..."Most of the buffing stuff we use wasnt intended for wood use [as it was intended for polishing metals and such]."

If this is true then the answer to this fellows question lies in....wait for it...the el cheapo harbor freight store...they sell a buffing kit that has a probably around 10 different buffs and probably 2ounces each of tripoli, white diamond, and something called black emory. It says "aluminum polishing kit" but...it is less than 10 bucks...I am still in the testing of this kit...maybe someone else has tried it or would be interested to try it? It can be chucked in your lathe drill chuck.

And yes, if I have to pay homage to the pipe gods here goes....worship, worship, drool, drool...love all of your work so far!!

:D :notworthy: :lol:

Regardless, this is all FYI....

Eric
duckman
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Re: finishing: I'm lost...

Post by duckman »

Hello my name is Jeff and this is my first post but i have question on this subject. Ive been looking at products to finish my rusticated test pieces and came across this at Grizzleys, anyone try it? http://www.grizzly.com/products/Crystal-Coat/H2328 Thanks.
Archer
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Re: finishing: I'm lost...

Post by Archer »

Welcome to the sickness! As a fellow noob I welcome you...

HUT, as it scommonly called, is a great product provided you can get enough friction, generating enough heat to move the treatment across the entire surface. I use it almost exclusively for my pens, its also a form of "OB's shine juice" (1part DNA alcohol, 1 part BLO, 1 part Zinssers clear shellac) with carnuba flake wax added. The heat causes the BLO and DNA to break down allowing the shellac and carnuba to "float" the surface and distribute evenly, drying quickly...you can touch it in a few seconds after a high speed turn.

Because heat is the method it uses to dispense, I have found that it "sweats" when you smoke a pipe treated with it. The heat reconstitues the treatment, if you will. It leaves an oily residue on the pipe when this happens.

It is a truly great product that produces a high shine on stuff that you can spin quickly...I dont think I would use it for pipes period due to the sweating issue, besides the fact that it would be truly hard to rub into the pores of rustication and hard to get a shine on.

If you are looking for that wet lok shine on rustication, search it out here, there are some posts about it, I believe it involves "spit coats" of shellac wiped off with DNA.

I have seen Blakemar pipes use a shellac type substance, it looked like mylars, and then let it dry for a coupla hours, then buff with wheels...I would think you dont buff rustication often, if any, but he does it very well to a high shine! Search them on youtube.

Hope this helps!

:thumbsup:
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Sasquatch
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Re: finishing: I'm lost...

Post by Sasquatch »

The wax in that product will keep it a little soft, would be my fear, as mentioned above.

French Polish (thin shellac) works good on really rough pipes. It melts at fairly hot temperatures, so if anyone complains about a sticky finish you can tell them that they smoke too hot and void the warranty and sue them!
ALL YOUR PIPE ARE BELONG TO US!
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