Burnout / Dark Spot - hide with dark stain, rusticate it?

To cut to the chase, antique store find, decent pipe but the previous owner thought that reaming a pipe was a porn move. After I cleaned it up and removed the 1/2" of cake, I see that I need to add some pipe mud to one spot that is fissured pretty bad and the result is a dark spot on the outer bowl. What is the best way to cover this unsightly mark so I don't have to look at it. The current stain is a light brown so I thought maybe switching it to a dark stain may work or I could try my hand at rusticating the area but don't want to weaken it any further.

Looking for some ideas.

A dark stain might do the trick, although you'd probably have to dye it black to completely hide it. Rustication is probably not a good idea. If it's that dark and noticeable then it's probably weakened at that spot and you could end up with a porthole in the side of the bowl if you start chipping at it.

Here's what ya need:

http://www.amazon.com/Fiebings-Leath.../dp/B004L5R1DY

Ditto on not rusticating it. I would be worried about busting through the burnout spot.

If it's so deep that there is a fear of busting through, even if taking a measly 8th of an inch off from rusticating, I'd be questioning the value in keeping/using the pipe at all. I've never experienced it before so I don't know, but I'd be more inclined to toss it if it's THAT bad.

Have any pics?

The pipe is doomed if it is showing burn through. One of these days, you will be smoking it and it will get super hot and finish the meltdown. I would do an autopsy and find out if it was a void in the briar that caused the burnout or just someone's bad technique. Sorry to be a doomsayer.

Nothing to lose.

Scrape the lose stuff out of the chamber, wipe it clean, mud it properly; wait 24-48 hours, sand the mud smooth and smoke gently a couple of times. If the mud holds for a few dozen smokes (I've never had it fail) worry about refinishing the pipe next year. Not a rustication candidate if successful. :)

I bought a new MM General on vacation and smoked the heck out of it on the beach and porch, constant breeze pretty much. A few weeks later it gutted, turned a large dark brown spot and burned my fingers; mudded now and five years later, I smoke it every week.

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Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Nothing to lose.

Scrape the lose stuff out of the chamber, wipe it clean, mud it properly; wait 24-48 hours, sand the mud smooth and smoke gently a couple of times. If the mud holds for a few dozen smokes (I've never had it fail) worry about refinishing the pipe next year. Not a rustication candidate if successful. :)

I bought a new MM General on vacation and smoked the heck out of it on the beach and porch, constant breeze pretty much. A few weeks later it gutted, turned a large dark brown spot and burned my fingers; mudded now and five years later, I smoke it every week.

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Dan is dead on.

The problem with staining this pipes is that to do it correctly you'd need to sand it (the whole pipe so that it readily accepts the stain), background stain (black), sand it again, stain it with your dark color, sand smooth and finish. You'll still remove precious briar around the burn.

Best of luck.

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Originally Posted by NeverBend

Dan is dead on.

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This happens so seldom. I quiver.

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You'll still remove precious briar....

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If the mud holds then I guess you could bleach the wood; I know it's done but I've never tried it. Somebody here has, surely!

Good info and thank you so much for the replies. I reamed and sanded down the inner bowl and I do not see any burn or cracks where the spot is. I was a bit hasty in my initial cleanup and getting it down to bare wood revealed good wood. I think Nach called it - poor technique. I am going to just smoke it gently and develop some cake or maybe apply a thin coat of mud. After reading the rustication remarks I think I will just sand the out er bowl and stain it black. No worries as it is just a beater for around the yard. No pictures, sorry my camera is out of batteries.

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Originally Posted by Mister Moo

This happens so seldom. I quiver.

If the mud holds then I guess you could bleach the wood; I know it's done but I've never tried it. Somebody here has, surely!

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Hi Dan,

Yes, or you could use alcohol that will dilute the old stain (can't remove it entirely). It's just me but I'd follow your instructions (previous) and not worry about the finish).

Crappy cell phone pic:

Attachment 1145

Since it isn't dad's pipe or a priceless something-pipe, try the mud thing. If it doesn't work, pitch it.

If the patch holds and the wood no longer darkens after a while, try a little sanding, alcohol (suggested above) to reduce the spot and restain and refinish. All told you're taking a few hours. The effort put forth is only for you. If it is some saleable name (if undamaged), it won't be worth much with a spot (or not) and a burnout repair. IIf the pipe was a cheapie to begin with the value of the pipe and the effort to repair it is whatever you think it's worth to you (aesthetically).

I can't explain why I took acouple of hours (I had to have been worth at least $100/hr back when I could still think :D ) out of my life to scrape, scour, mud, sand (inside and out) and wax a $7.95 MM General. WTH? I just liked THAT pipe. Still do.

An instructive tale.

My first time in the Dunhill factory was April 1980 (the old factory before they merged with the Parker facility). Bernie Knighton handed me a pipe and asked how pieces it had. Two, I said. No, thirteen and Bernie proceeded to unscrew the pipe like it was a Rubik Cube and he laid out the pieces.

Bernie explained that it was an overly loved and badly abused Dunhill Root LB, (large billiard - duh), with carbon cake boiling over the rim, visible rim cracks and a three burnouts showing on the bowl. The stem was chewed through and had a broken tenon (hard to chew through those old Dunhill stems!).

Bernie drilled the burnout at the bottom of the pipe until he had clean wood on all sides, then screw threaded the hole. He cut and threaded a briar plug, screwed and glued it into place. The other repairs were variations but when he was finished he had it lightly sanded, touched it up with some hand carving and had it refinished and stamped as a Dunhill (not LB). Freakin' brilliant!

The moral of the story is that you can get pretty carried away with repairing your pipes.

Pete