Restoring a Mastercraft Handmade
Hi guys!
The pipe forum is feeling pretty dead!
I admit, I've not been contributing what I used to. So, I decided to change that!
I recently restored a Mastercraft Handmade.
I don't have a lot of fancy equipment. I use an old Swiss Army knife, easy to find cleaning supplies, cordless drill, and elbow grease. If I can do it, you can too!
So, here we go!
This is the pipe, as I bought it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ob...=w1221-h688-no
Inside the bowl.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bx...=w1581-h891-no
It looked pretty rough, but there was no real damage to the wood and the stem. A nice restoration candidate.
First I carefully reamed out the old cake with a dull short spear blade of a Swiss Army knife. I know. I know. I really need to get a good reamer.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Tk...=w1581-h891-no
I then used 90% isopropyl alcohol, and maybe some spit, to clean off the tar, gunk, crud, and hopefully any varnish etc. that is left.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KE...=w1581-h891-no
Next, I worked a bit more on the stem. I used first, a Magic Eraser; then Bar Keepers Friend soft cleanser with a paper towel.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YN..._=w702-h936-no
About 10 minutes with a Magic Eraser.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2c...=w1248-h936-no
After about 10 minutes with Barkeepers Friend.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Zg...=w1248-h936-no
A few more minutes. Notice there are still a lot of small scratches, etc. so I later put more time into polishing it more with Bar Keepers Friend. Maybe another 10-15 minutes.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Bo...=w1248-h936-no
I then hit the briar with the Bar Keepers friend to give it a bit of a micro sanding to get it completely clean - Basically down to the briar.
It was pretty light and uninteresting, and I forgot to take a photo!
I wanted more grain contrast, so I mixed up a stain with black in and alcohol. Notice how purple it was! EEK! But I pushed forward and coated the briar. I then set it aside to dry for a while.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/V2...=w1248-h936-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Zm...=w1248-h936-no
After it sat for 30 minutes to an hour, I soaked a paper towel in regular 50% isopropyl alcohol and wiped it down. Notice how purple the paper towel is. And look at that grain!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IB...=w1248-h936-no
I then scrubbed it down with Bar Keepers Friend again, to knock off the stain in the highlights. Followed by a wash down with hot water in the sink. No. It won't hurt your pipe.
Here is how it looked still wet, after washing.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uq...=w1248-h936-no
Here it is after it dried. Seems pretty dull again. But wait! There's more!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SH...=w1248-h936-no
After leaving it a couple days to fully dry out, I needed to add a protective layer of wax.
I don't have a pic of my polishing "set up," but it is just a cordless drill with a cotton buffer wheel chucked in it.
I bought some carnauba wax chips, melted them into a block and used that.
Here is the finished product. It looks better in person.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y3...=w1248-h936-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pq...=w1248-h936-no
It would be even better with good tools and a bench buffer, etc., but not too bad.
Now you try it!
