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It had a couple of fills scratches that kept me from keeping it natural. It now has three coats of the dye and I just put the first coat of Danish oil on it. I'll let the oil dry/absorb for at least 24 hours before deciding what to do next. I'll either put a second coat of oil on it at that point or I may let it dry another 24 hours and then polish it up.
 
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I haven't yet for two reasons: 1) I am still learning and, although I am really happy with the outcome of them, they're not up to a quality that I would be proud enough of to sell and 2) I've been doing the refinishing mostly on inexpensive pipes that I get from Ebay for just a few dollars (other than a couple of gifted ones I've received). Even if I nailed down the process and made a gorgeous pipe, I could not, in good conscience, sell a cheap ass pipe for any kind of a profit.

I am, however, trying to tweak my restoration process in the hopes that I can help brothers here out by doing restoration work for them for the cost of shipping and a cigar or two. But that's down the road.
 
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start searching Ebay. There are two main parts to a restoration: the cleaning/sanitizing, and the aesthetic restoration. Sometimes, there is a third component - repair.

Ignoring the repair part for now, the sanitizing and cleaning is pretty straightforward but can be nasty if you get a really dirty pipe. But, in the end, with some effort and time, you can bring an estate back to life of all you want to do is smoke it.

So, keeping that in mind, go ahead and find a cheapie on the bay. Worst case scenario is that you totally eff up the finish but, as long as it is clean and sanitized, you can still smoke it.
 
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start searching Ebay. There are two main parts to a restoration: the cleaning/sanitizing, and the aesthetic restoration. Sometimes, there is a third component - repair.

Ignoring the repair part for now, the sanitizing and cleaning is pretty straightforward but can be nasty if you get a really dirty pipe. But, in the end, with some effort and time, you can bring an estate back to life of all you want to do is smoke it.

So, keeping that in mind, go ahead and find a cheapie on the bay. Worst case scenario is that you totally eff up the finish but, as long as it is clean and sanitized, you can still smoke it.
I've been browsing but nothing tickled me fancy yet. One day one will pop up and I'll say holy crap I need to have it. I've been checking out local antique stores too. There's definitely some stuff out there, but now I just have to search a little harder.
 
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I hear ya. My suggestion is that, if you're looking to get into (or just try) restorations, aim at getting cheap Dr. Grabow pipes. I got one a while ago for $2. Not the fanciest shape and I'd have never bought it new but for practice it was great.
 
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Alright, just finished waxing and buffing it. I gave the coat of Danish oil 48 hours to soak in and dry (as much as it would), then rubbed off the excess, gave it another 12 hours, and decided that one coat would be enough. Paragon wax on the bowl and stem, let that harden for about 15 minutes, and then buffed it with a muslin wheel on my drill.

Much better results from my first attempt. The difference is that I didn't rush the sanding process. I started with the 150 grit to remove the stain, then worked up to the 4000 grit micro mesh cloth, and then a final polishing with 00 steel wool. Wiped the bowl after each sanding session with 99% Isopropyl alcohol to remove the dust and fine matter before moving up to the next sandpaper.

So, yeah, this was an excellent lesson/reminder about being patient and doing things right. Also, this is the best result I've gotten on a stem, too. It's a high gloss black again.

Total of three coats of dye, one coat of Danish oil, and then the Paragon wax as I just mentioned. Here it is:
 
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Nice job Rob - really nice.

You have to admit that smoking that with all the work you put into it, is going to be extremely satisfying. Nice.
 
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