Just won an ebay on a Peterson K&P Silver estate. Photos were not the best but based on the silver marks I believe it is 1993. We shall see how clean up will go when it arrives
@opipeman You could sand it with the micro sanding pads. I have seen them here at our ACE Hardware stores. Harbor freight has fairly inexpensive buffing wheel sets if you have a drill press? I usually hand sand to 600 grit, then use my buffer. I’m too lazy to sand to 12000 grit by hand. In my opinion, it’s just not necessary for daily smokers. After sanding, you could use some Paragon Wax and hand buff it shiny.
I just picked up this Chacom Puma, I wanted to bring this pipe back to life but the spotted finish got me a bit worried about overworking the bowl. I have no idea how they stained the wood, and I don't want to damage it. So far a light brushing with Murphy's oil is as far as I have gotten. Any suggestions?
@opipeman Put tape around the meer shank leaving just a sliver (approx. 1/32 - 1/64) of an inch of the meerschaum showing. If you do not allow that small amount of meer to show, the sanding/buffing will never get to the joint. Then tape the stem just past the end of the rough area. Depending on how rough the area is will determine the grade of sandpaper to start. Start light, say 800 -1000 grit. Do NOT water while sanding since meerschaum and water do not get along. Eventually working to 1200. At this point is where I transfer to micro pads. Again, stepping through the grades WITHOUT water. You probably will have to frequently clean or change out the sandpaper and pads since, without using water, they will get residue buildup. I'm sure there are many different ways to skin this cat, but this is what I have done in the past and it works for me... Hope this helps
@Zouave That Chacom is a good looking pipe, but I think, upon close inspection IMHO, that it has been finished like that to hold down the noticeability of fills. I could be wrong, but since it is stained that way, the only route to go is either totally strip the stummel (which may reveal more problems eg. fills, etc.), or thouroughly clean the stummel, lightly sand with say, 1000 grit, then restain with dark brown or black if your objective is to get rid of the "antiqued " look... Of course it depends on what your finished objective is...
@KA9FFJ thanks for the advice. I will play around with it and see how things look. I guess worse case scenario is I sand the entire thing down and restain it. I do like the spotted look, that's what got my attention.
@Zouave Since you like the spots, why not just wipe it down with Paragon Wax and buff it with a cloth? Paragon wax has Carnauba in it, it is not quite as durable as hard Carnauba wax applied with a buffer, but it it pretty easy to apply. The only thing I dislike about it is that it will fill in the stampings with wax and when it dries it is white. Sometimes it’s tough to get out of the stampings again.
Thanks @RockyMountainBriar I'll look for some of that wax. I may just try to use the carnuba wax over it. Test it on the stummel and see how it looks. It's an interesting finish for sure and I am hoping I can save it to some extent. I'll post some pics when I get it moving along.
here is that Chacom Puma all cleaned up, polished and waxed. There was one small pit filled in at the top of the bowl but it hid well. When I say this pipe was dirty in the bowl, it's an understatement. Took a gross of pipe cleaners and alcohol to swab out the shank.
The “gross of pipe cleaners” is the reason you should buy a couple of shank/stem brushes. Washable and reuseable. Put PIPETTE CLEANER into Amazon or eBay. At eBay, scroll down past what appear to be turkey basters (?)
Finally got that Chacom Puma all done. I ended up just applying wax over the existing finish after a light external cleaning. Cleaned, reamed out, sanitized and repolished. I'm happy I didn't sand off the spotted finish.
@RockyMountainBriar Good to know. I used a damp magic eraser over the entire stummel then, while still slightly damp, gently used a soft nylon brush to rid it of and dust and debris. After a thorough drying, I used 1000 grit very sparingly over the entire stummel. Not sure how much is patina, but it does have an interesting look IMHO... Sidenote: thoroughly sanded out the bowl. I detected no ghosting during my initial trial. I'm satisfied with it...
@KA9FFJ; You should have saved that cracked pipe you threw away as evidence. The previous owner should have been reported to the ASPCP*. * American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Pipes.
At first, all I could tell you is that this pipe: has 3 hairline cracks at the base of the stem Consequently the metal tenon insert was loose and slipped right out The pipe was so filthy I could barely make out MEDICO on the shank The rim was charred and in need of restoration There were spots where varnish was still adhering to the stummel. In spite of all that, I decided to tackle it... General cleaning came first...
Comments
You could sand it with the micro sanding pads. I have seen them here at our ACE Hardware stores. Harbor freight has fairly inexpensive buffing wheel sets if you have a drill press? I usually hand sand to 600 grit, then use my buffer. I’m too lazy to sand to 12000 grit by hand. In my opinion, it’s just not necessary for daily smokers. After sanding, you could use some Paragon Wax and hand buff it shiny.
Thanks for the advise, Brother!
Put tape around the meer shank leaving just a sliver (approx. 1/32 - 1/64) of an inch of the meerschaum showing. If you do not allow that small amount of meer to show, the sanding/buffing will never get to the joint.
Then tape the stem just past the end of the rough area.
Depending on how rough the area is will determine the grade of sandpaper to start.
Start light, say 800 -1000 grit. Do NOT water while sanding since meerschaum and water do not get along. Eventually working to 1200.
At this point is where I transfer to micro pads. Again, stepping through the grades WITHOUT water.
You probably will have to frequently clean or change out the sandpaper and pads since, without using water, they will get residue buildup.
I'm sure there are many different ways to skin this cat, but this is what I have done in the past and it works for me...
Hope this helps
You the man! Thanks, Brother!
That Chacom is a good looking pipe, but I think, upon close inspection IMHO, that it has been finished like that to hold down the noticeability of fills. I could be wrong, but since it is stained that way, the only route to go is either totally strip the stummel (which may reveal more problems eg. fills, etc.), or thouroughly clean the stummel, lightly sand with say, 1000 grit, then restain with dark brown or black if your objective is to get rid of the "antiqued " look...
Of course it depends on what your finished objective is...
Since you like the spots, why not just wipe it down with Paragon Wax and buff it with a cloth? Paragon wax has Carnauba in it, it is not quite as durable as hard Carnauba wax applied with a buffer, but it it pretty easy to apply. The only thing I dislike about it is that it will fill in the stampings with wax and when it dries it is white. Sometimes it’s tough to get out of the stampings again.
The “gross of pipe cleaners” is the reason you should buy a couple of shank/stem brushes. Washable and reuseable.
Put PIPETTE CLEANER into Amazon or eBay. At eBay, scroll down past what appear to be turkey basters (?)
Nice work, Brother.
Turns out it is a Kiki #25 (African meerschaum). Stem stamp was all but gone... there was no saving what wasn't there...
I prefer the darker appearance of the African meer…..
A big plus is you can smoke it after Labor Day 😆
Good to know. I used a damp magic eraser over the entire stummel then, while still slightly damp, gently used a soft nylon brush to rid it of and dust and debris.
After a thorough drying, I used 1000 grit very sparingly over the entire stummel.
Not sure how much is patina, but it does have an interesting look IMHO...
Sidenote: thoroughly sanded out the bowl. I detected no ghosting during my initial trial. I'm satisfied with it...
You should have saved that cracked pipe you threw away as evidence. The previous owner should have been reported to the ASPCP*.
* American Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Pipes.
You are very talented.
I need my blue Molina re-blued and you're the guy to do it. 😁👍
....and a good photographer, too!
has 3 hairline cracks at the base of the stem
Consequently the metal tenon insert was loose and slipped right out
The pipe was so filthy I could barely make out MEDICO on the shank
The rim was charred and in need of restoration
There were spots where varnish was still adhering to the stummel.
In spite of all that, I decided to tackle it... General cleaning came first...