I scrubbed the pipe with Murphys, and after a two day soak in alcohol the finish was untouched. I couldn’t figure out what I had and reached out to some restorers. It was urethane. That’s right, URETHANE. That’s the surprise. No wonder it hadn’t been smoked.
I had work to do. I couldn’t have used paint remover, but decided to sand. I’d lose the rustication but at this point I really didn’t care. Virtually I threw everything I had at it.
If anyone runs into this situation use the water solvable paint remover from your hardware store. For sanding I used steel wool, and different sanding grades.
After sanding, I tried a two tone approach with a darker bottom. I did had trouble blending the top and the bottom, but worked out rather well. I did not get too much of a contrast between the top and bottom of the pipe, but for a cheap yard pipe I think I got my moneys worth. I do like this shape.
I’m looking forward to a smoke this fall.
(The pics from beginning to end thru the process)
