Finishing Olive Wood

[restever99]

Greetings to all,

So in the great debate over what material I should make my first real pipe out of I have settled on olive wood. Mainly because I had a slab sitting in the shop not being used. I've begun the process of carving and am trying to decide on a finish. I heard somewhere, probably this site I just don't remember, that you could use nitrocelluose lacquer and get a really awesome shine. Is this possible and safe to smoke or is this just a pipe dream?

[baweaverpipes]

Just wax the pipe, the color will come through, or you could do a light mist of shellac and that brings out some color.

[kbadkar]

Yes, of course it's possible and safe to smoke a pipe with nitrocellulose lacquer (on the outside of the bowl/shank). I believe it's illegal to use or have the stuff here in California, though not impossible to get ahold of. I know re-pat Trever has experimented and used it and may share his experiences. I've never used nitrocellulose lacquer nor olive wood, but consensus seems to be that olive wood is very porous, so learn to accept a matte finish. Perhaps the NC lacquer would be better than shellac to fill the wood pores; but I find that for ALL wood pipes, that deep mirror shine doesn't last long, though it can be extended with shellac, and lacquer extends the shine even longer, but is generally not accepted by pipe smokers and purchasers, believing that it reduces the porosity of the wood, and therefore the absorbency and "breathing" of the wood, which is bullshit really. NC lacquer is believed to "breathe" better than regular lacquer. I think the real problem is that once the lacquer fades in spots, your pipe won't look right until you remove it all, re-stain, sand, buff, and wax. I'm not sure if NC lacquer has this same problem.

[Sasquatch]

Olive does not take to polishing quite the same way that briar does, because of the porosity. If your wheels are dirty at all, it transfers deep into the wood.

I took to finishing olive pipes with linseed oil and calling them done.