By Al Jones

This GBD 548S New Standard came to me thru Ebay and seemed to be in good condition. The thick, striated layer of oxidation appeared to be the only challenge. The 584 shape is intriguing in that I don’t recall seeing it previously. Google yielded only one ebay ad from 2008,sold by Coopersark (a pair of 584, tapered stem pipes) It is similar in shape to the more common 549 Bulldog GBD shape. Below is the pipe as received.

I reamed the slight cake from the bowl and soaked it with alcohol and sea salt. The stem was soaked in a mild Oxy-Clean solution to loosen the oxidation.

I used 800 grit to remove the top layer of oxidation on the stem. I wrap the paper around a popsicle stick to keep the diamond stem angles from rounding. Removing oxidation is always a compromise, as stem material is also removed. I then moved to 1500 and 2000 grade wet papers. Then 8000 and 12000 micromesh. The stem was mounted on the bowl and buffed with White Diamond and then Meguiars Plastic Polish.

The bowl top had some darkening, which I removed carefully with 2000 grade paper. I did a “stain wash” on the bowl and bowl top with a paper towel dipped in Medium Brown stain. There were some faded areas of the stain and the wash helps blend in those areas for a more consistent color finish. The bowl was then buffed with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba Wax.

Below is the finished pipe.