@motie2 Instead of brutalizing the pipe with sandpaper, try using some 180 Proof Everclear to remove the oils and waxes, it will also take some stain out as well, but if you want to dye it anyway it is much less destructive. If it does not take the stain, then try the sandpaper, the finer the better. Wiping with Everclear is a lot less elbow grease as well. Fiebing's Mahogany is a great reddish medium brown. It would be close to that Charatan you have, barring the sandblasted finish. It would be similar to Dunhill Bruyere and other old school English, French and USA pipes (WDC,MLC,CPF). If you don't want any red, the Medium Brown is a good old school color. British Tan is close to the old Yello-Bole's color. Although for your pipe, a darker dye will be need to cover the old color. You can dye darker, but lighter is tough. There are chemicals to bleach wood, but I have not tried them yet. If you cover the pipe with dye and set the dye aflame it will set the dye into the wood better. You can then use a cloth/paper towel soaked with Everclear to wipe the stain to an even finish. The carvings in your pipe may end up being a darker shade. If you want the pipe overall to be a lighter shade wipe more off with a clean paper towel soaked in Everclear until you get the shade and even coverage you desire. You could use a bunch of Everclear soaked Q-Tips to get more stain out of the carvings if needed (Now, once it is dyed, it will NOT return to its' original color, no matter how much you wipe it down). If it gets too light, dye it again. I use my Senior pipe reamer to hold my pipes when staining them. I remove the stem from the pipe first (I don't want to stain my stem) and I just insert it into the bowl and open it up until it holds the pipe well. Don't over tighten it, there would be a chance of cracking out the bowl, especially if it has some heat fissures or weak spots in the bowl. It will hold all but the very smallest and very largest pipes I have, and you can turn the pipe around while you stain it. After you get the color you want, let it dry for a few hours and then buff it with carnuba, or rub it down with Halcyon II or Paragon Wax. If you had to sand it, you may need to sand/buff with progressively finer grits before waxing.
Sanding seems unlikely as the "pink" is in the many... uh.... grooves and notches. But many thanks for the additional tips.... especially the one about setting the dye aflame. Sounds like fun.
I cleaned it up(alcohol bath, sanding, reaming, etc.). When I dried it after a thorough rinse, I found a leaking patch-job at the bottom of the bowl. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the manufacturer actually mis-drilled the initial airhole. You can see the water still seeping through the patch...
I the patched it using a super glue Ang briar dust mix. The hole I drilled did not go through the bowl and I placed a Vaseline coated plug in the shank to insure no bowl contamination. Note all that bad spots and pits on the bowl. A perfect contender for education.
@Corey562 Alcohol bath, a good reaming, and I'm ready to start sanding... Looks like some decent grain and only one sand pit. I won't be rusticating this one...
I did the above early this morning and forgot to post it... Boy I'm getting old! I finished the stummel and here it is... Now I'll work on the stem and give a pic later...
@Corey562 Yea, nothing wrong in taking a step back, catching your breath, and allow the creating juices to flow while doing a little "R&R"... Seeing your creations come to fruition is giving a great number of TPL folks a great deal of joy...
Comments
Instead of brutalizing the pipe with sandpaper, try using some 180 Proof Everclear to remove the oils and waxes, it will also take some stain out as well, but if you want to dye it anyway it is much less destructive. If it does not take the stain, then try the sandpaper, the finer the better. Wiping with Everclear is a lot less elbow grease as well. Fiebing's Mahogany is a great reddish medium brown. It would be close to that Charatan you have, barring the sandblasted finish. It would be similar to Dunhill Bruyere and other old school English, French and USA pipes (WDC,MLC,CPF). If you don't want any red, the Medium Brown is a good old school color. British Tan is close to the old Yello-Bole's color. Although for your pipe, a darker dye will be need to cover the old color. You can dye darker, but lighter is tough. There are chemicals to bleach wood, but I have not tried them yet.
If you cover the pipe with dye and set the dye aflame it will set the dye into the wood better. You can then use a cloth/paper towel soaked with Everclear to wipe the stain to an even finish. The carvings in your pipe may end up being a darker shade. If you want the pipe overall to be a lighter shade wipe more off with a clean paper towel soaked in Everclear until you get the shade and even coverage you desire. You could use a bunch of Everclear soaked Q-Tips to get more stain out of the carvings if needed (Now, once it is dyed, it will NOT return to its' original color, no matter how much you wipe it down). If it gets too light, dye it again.
I use my Senior pipe reamer to hold my pipes when staining them. I remove the stem from the pipe first (I don't want to stain my stem) and I just insert it into the bowl and open it up until it holds the pipe well. Don't over tighten it, there would be a chance of cracking out the bowl, especially if it has some heat fissures or weak spots in the bowl. It will hold all but the very smallest and very largest pipes I have, and you can turn the pipe around while you stain it.
After you get the color you want, let it dry for a few hours and then buff it with carnuba, or rub it down with Halcyon II or Paragon Wax. If you had to sand it, you may need to sand/buff with progressively finer grits before waxing.