Importance of Shellac ??

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
pipedreamer
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by pipedreamer »

My jump boots ( spit shined ) are waiting in the closet. :!: I will need them again, I'm sure!!!
Jeff_Grivers
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by Jeff_Grivers »

Maybe we could rekindle this conversation a bit? I was just wondering which formula of the Menzerna people are using? On their website i see heavy cut, medium cut, and finish but there are many different kinds at each level. Which ones are you using for pipes?
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RickB
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by RickB »

For the Menzerna, I believe George spills the beans on the exact ones he uses (for stems at least) in his videos, though I can't recall which ones (or which specific videos) - hopefully he'll chime in. Spending the money for good compound is an investment I still need to make, so I'm curious too.
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caskwith
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by caskwith »

Menzerna don't make it easy as they produce so many different compounds with different names and slightly different properties, at least they do here anyway.
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by LatakiaLover »

Image
Image
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RickB
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by RickB »

Love it - and appreciate the handwritten notes for relative grits since their codes are incomprehensible . Thanks as always, George!
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Jeff_Grivers
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by Jeff_Grivers »

Hi Guys.

I have found the Menzerna compounds on the Grizzly site. They are a bit pricy but here is the link.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Brown-T ... ound/H0811
caskwith
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by caskwith »

WOAH that is crazy pricing! That bar is £5 here!
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

It looks like for the set of 4 compounds George posted, I'd pay around $155 shipped. They seem to have changed some model numbers, and what's on the Menzerna website doesn't necessarily match Grizzly's offerings. I'm guessing they have unlisted as well as discontinued products that all make the conventions rather confusing.

If it's £5 a bar, I wonder whether it would be cheaper to order from the UK, even with shipping. Are there UK distributors who will ship to the US?
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caskwith
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by caskwith »

Depending on your sanding routine the 4 products are likely not necessary. I only use 2.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

My current sanding is to 600, then tripoli (on stems only), white diamond, and Carnauba. I wipe the stem with denatured alcohol after Tripoli to clean off the grease. Which compounds do you use? I see on George's video that he didn't use the coarse, but he had some other compound.
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caskwith
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by caskwith »

If you only sand to 600 you might need a coarser compound.
I sand to 1000 then use the 18 and the atol 6, the 16 and the atol6 are essentially the same thing, the atol 6 is marginally better if you can get hold of it but it seems to be discontinued.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

I went with Coarse (H0811), Fine (H0813) and Extra Fine (T28191) from the Grizzly catalog. I’ll post some thoughts once I get them and have a chance to try them out.


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Jeff_Grivers
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by Jeff_Grivers »

[quote="sandahlpipe"]I went with Coarse (H0811), Fine (H0813) and Extra Fine (T28191) from the Grizzly catalog. I’ll post some thoughts once I get them and have a chance to try them out.



Those are the exact ones i have in my cart but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Your sanding process is similar to mine except i was going to 800 and then tripoli on the wood as well which i am learning is backwards. I will most likely only use that on the stem now and go right to the white diamond on the wood. I am interested to see how these menzerna compounds work and look forward to hearing your thoughts on them.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

The difference between 600 and 800 is negligible. I have 500, and 800 lined up for when I use up my 400 and 600. The difference between 320 and 400 isn’t much, but I can’t skip 400 efficiently.


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LatakiaLover
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by LatakiaLover »

You guys are making this much harder than it has to be. Polishing pipes is easy as hell. Just fill this halfway with compound, halfway with pipes, and let it run a couple hours while yer watchin' TV:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkUoe_RO-Lg
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

I got my new compounds (and new buffing wheels) and have tried them out on a couple of shop pipes so far. So far, it seems like I'm getting a better shine with less effort. I can't tell a difference between the fine and extra-fine in finish so far. I think the coarse one is slightly more effective than the Beall Tripoli on stems. It's also not quite as dirty, so I didn't bother cleaning the stem with denatured alcohol between that and the fine wheel and still got good results. I'm using an unsewn linen wheel for coarse and an unsewn, all-flannel wheel for the fine. I may get a sewn wheel for the coarse as well at some point, but I think it will work fine for now.
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Jeff_Grivers
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by Jeff_Grivers »

Thanks for the update Jeremiah. After reading your results i may just end up grabbing the coarse and the fine finish compounds to save a little money for now. I recently worked with the danish oil that i applied to one of my last pipes. I did 3 coats and let each coat dry for 24 hours before applying the next. I got a pretty good shine out of it. Although i never really had problems getting a good shine the danish oil seemed to add a little depth to the shine and color. One thing other thing i have been doing is heating the pipe before i stain and that has worked very well especially when you don't want the stain to run somewhere like for instance the rim of the bowl it just goes on and dries fast instead of running everywhere.
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sandahlpipe
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by sandahlpipe »

1. I think you'll be happy with the Menzerna compounds.
2. Danish oil gives depth, but doesn't make things shiny by itself. Oil-based finishes are meant to penetrate the wood and give the finish depth. They harden in the wood. If you want shine, that can be something like shellac, varnish, lacquer, or wax where you can actually build up a film on the surface.
3. Heating the stummel before staining is a good idea, as long as you're watching the dry lines. You don't want the stain to dry so quickly that it leaves lines.
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Jeff_Grivers
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Re: Importance of Shellac ??

Post by Jeff_Grivers »

I just ordered some BT&C blonde shellac tiger flakes to aid in the shine. Something else to figure out i guess. And the dry lines bit me. I guess i must have heated one of the pipes a little too much and your right it left lines that were a bitch to sand out.
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