Strippers

[Citizen B]

Currently 14 states ban the sale of Everclear including California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Iowa, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, North Carolin, Virginia, and Ohio. Alcohol vendors can sell Everclear in the other 36 states.

If you know where to look, you know where to find it.

[Ruffinogold]

For Lacquer ... after plugging the chamber up , use lacquer thinner or a stripper [ I prefer a stripper ] . The thinner is basically a hotter mineral spirit . A stripper , of course has some more shit going on but will do the whammy quicker and easier . As far as store bought stripper , I like Dads brand , its a little more evil . More evil is good . After using a stripper , wipe surface well with spirits and wipe with a dry clean rag . Repeat a few times . Whats left afterwards isnt a big deal and will be removed by the next step , which would be sanding . Really , there wont be any weirdness , ya just dont want stripper and or thinner in the chamber . Not that it couldn't be dealt with but its just an unnecessary step to avoid

A waxed finish ... alcohol and sanding . If a shellac was used to seal in stain , the alcohol will take care of it , as shellac is alcohol based . Hell remember that shit poy we had at the old psf one year ... an Invicta and a real chump deal . They used shellac to seal in stain and there were a good number of pipes with issues , especially if the shellac mix was too heavy , which of course it was , on top of using an oil based dye stain .. lol . Behind the scenes that year , and a little in public , I warned that mod in particular of the odds of shit happening . Anyway , I get pissed just thinking about it , but alcohol will usually do it
If a pipe is in good shape but you just want to remove the wax and restain , especially darker . You can make a mild wax remover using Mineral spirits , Toluene and alcohol . I dont recall the mix , though its probably written down in my barn . Its light on the toluene and alcohol . Its not hard to do , its just the mix applied to the pipe/wood and a fine grit sandpaper ... wiped off with spirits

Or ... you could just sand away but thats timely . Finishing is what Ive done professionally for many years and I really dig it but enjoy whatever takes the least time and energy . I saw comments , on the old forum , where there was such discussion about things that were blown out of proportion to begin with .... it was ridiculous . One time , and one time only , I mentioned some finishing techniques and was bombarded by the over thinking amateurs . It was ... well , it was the old forum . Trust me on this one . I wasnt on the list of conservators for the Biltmore in Asheville for no reason . Ive not updated myself there and am off the list these days . Asheville has grown far too much for me . I only go there for a concert now and then .

Lol , anyway , I still get pissed thinking about this topic at the old forum .. sorry for the rant

[arturo7]

Click-Bait.

Somehow, I knew opening this thread would be a disappointment.

[Armycw2]

And here I was with a fistfull of dollar bills....

[Wildcat]

Denatured Alcohol or 90% Isopropyl for shellac, acetone for lacquer. Both dry and do not leave a residue, despite peoples weirdness about them.
Stains.. that's a totally different story. They are really difficult to remove chemically, and I've always resorted to sanding. I've had success lightening pipes by letting them float in a jar full of alcohol, but the stain was still somewhat there.

+1

[Riff89]

Missouri makes some stuff that is not welcome in certain States
Like high VOC stains, EverClear etc
How about some Bacardi 151 ?
Or some high octane vodka ?

In Which States Is It Legal to Sell Everclear?
Search domain www.reference.com/world-view/states-leg ... 135b176678
Currently 14 states ban the sale of Everclear including California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Iowa, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, North Carolin, Virginia, and Ohio. Alcohol vendors can sell Everclear in the other 36 states.

New Hampshire sells Everclear. Never used to but they started selling it a few years back (full strength) I bought some for pipe restoration which quickly escalated to Everclear and apple juice talk about a rough patch! Lol. To get my train back on the tracks uhh Everclear worked on the few pipes that I had to refinish with very minimal sanding.

[Citizen B]

Click-Bait.

Somehow, I knew opening this thread would be a disappointment.

Low expectations are the key to life satisfaction.

[Houtenziel]

Depending on the brand of lacquer thinner, they can contain MEK, toluene, or even xylene. These will leave residues, unlike alcohol or acetone. I would be careful with that.

[Bamarick]

So what should I use, besides elbow grease, to remove the dark stain on my Dr G Omega? There's some nice grain underneath all of the dark, almost black, finish.

[Ruffinogold]

Depending on the brand of lacquer thinner, they can contain MEK, toluene, or even xylene. These will leave residues, unlike alcohol or acetone. I would be careful with that.

" Rinsing " with mineral spirits and wiping dry a couple times , and then of course sanding is the next step , takes care of any weirdness