pipemakersforum.com

I'm working on my first ever pipe, and it happens to be a pear wood kit from Mr. Brog that my wife bought me for Christmas. I like the look of the natural pearwood Mr. Brog's that I have seen, but I have no idea how to do that. I have shaped it and sanded it to 600 grit. Is my next step carnauba wax? Or do I need to buff it with white diamond first? My concern is that the the buffing polish may affect the natural look of the finish.

Any suggestions?

Don’t know about pear, but anytime your polishing or staining wood that you’re in doubt about test with a please of scrap.

Steve

I would buff it just like a stained pipe. Tripoli then white diamond then carnuba. Maybe even treat with diluted shellac after the white diamond (I lightly buff with white diamond again after the shellac). The buffing may darken the color a bit but it's worth it IMO. If you don't buff it out after the sanding, the finish won't be near as good but that's your decision. I agree, try it on a sample piece of wood if you can.

As long as you haven't made the walls and shank super thin then there is no harm in buffing it to see how it turns out, if you really don't like it then sanding again very lightly will remove it. Staining or shellacing are another matter however as they penetrate much deeper and would be almost impossible to remove.