Estate pipe face lift (Very Pic Heavy)

I've been wanting to step up my estate pipe game a bit to altering and staining. Instead of just dipping my toe in I decided to jump in head first. The pipe I chose to possibly destroy is a beat up Hialeah I purchased for $5 shipped on ebay.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psacxmgf2o.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pstwl8mfrm.jpg

I've always liked those Peterson St. Paddy's day pipes but never dropped the green on one (yep, this thread has puns). I also wanted to try my hand at rusticating so figured I would kill two birds with one stone on my first test of concept/destruction of beat up old pipe.

First step was to clean the pipe as normal.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psmsboqyck.jpg

After that I soaked the pipe in 90% Iso to remove the old stain.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pswzevbqmj.jpg

Next step...sanding...and more sanding...
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps90vwtyez.jpg

I put some water on the sanded bowl to show the grain so I could decide where I wanted to rusticate and where I wanted to leave the pipe smooth.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pshrf49zb0.jpg

Rough pencil drawing of what I wanted to do....then more sanding...
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psys6luk1e.jpg

I taped off the area I wanted to leave smooth.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psxuivkvqq.jpg

Then I built my rustication tool.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps2udvfhvb.jpg

Start rusticating.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psigt7r037.jpg

End rusticating.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ps2mcg6zez.jpg

The dye I used is Feibings leather dye.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...qL._SY355_.jpg

After doing some reading on dying pipes, I opted for a two tone dye. I started with a base coat of black.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pscufv7trm.jpg

After hitting the pipe with the dye I immediately wiped the pipe down with an alcohol soaked rag to remove as much as possible. This is so the dye soaks into the softer parts of the briar and brings out the grain.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psuzaxnc8m.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psu64r05pd.jpg

I did two coats of black, sanding in between, and wiping with the alcohol soaked rag both times.

Next was the first coat of green. This time I still wiped the stain off the pipe, but with a clean rag instead of one soaked in alcohol.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psuzr4y4xs.jpg

Second coat of green.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psoiy9izke.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pslbtq60ms.jpg

Finally, the pipe gets a coat of wax and a final polish with a soft cloth.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psykpgthnf.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...psv2ebutvp.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...pszlrfqsc5.jpg

This was a fun project and I learned quite a bit to make the next one easier. Overall I'm pretty happy how it turned out for a proof of concept.

Looks damn good to me:clappy: :clappy::clappy::clappy::clappy:

That green looks slick!

I like the green also, Fantastic restore !

Some people hate on the racing green, but I love it. Nice work!

I got one of those Peterson Xmas in green and the stain bled out; It had stain my hand. I returned for a refund. I also have a 120 Pete in racing green, over the years most of the green had disappeared. I may try my hand at re-staining it.Those St Patrick's day Pipes were sharp but I couldn't find one in my favorite shape 999. Thanks for the post.

I was skeptical when I saw the first rustication pic and the medieval-looking tool, but that came out really nice! Well done.

Thanks for the compliments. With summer being here I have not done much, but I do have a few more donor pipes to screw around with sitting on the shelf.

I'm impressed with your work. When I saw that pipe and nails contraption, I had my doubts. But the finished product is excellent!

Nice work. I wouldn't have thought of using that green, but it really looks pretty!

I love the your "tool".... works for restoring a pipe or vanquishing your enemies.

It is a rather evil looking device. I wish I could take credit for the design but I found the plans on the Internet while searching how to rusticate.