Blog by Steve Laug

I use an alcohol bath for a lot of my pipe refurbishing work, particularly if I plan on restaining the pipe. The alcohol bath allows the pipe to soak submerged in isopropyl alcohol. This soak loosens the grit and grime in the finish and also removes the topcoat of wax and the stain. I have found it indispensable in loosening old finishes and allowing me fairly easy access to the briar beneath the finish. I have also found that it softens the old putty fills on pipes I plan on removing the fills from and reworking them with briar dust and superglue. I have referred to it often in the pages of the rebornpipes blog so I figured it was time to write about how I go about making the bath.

Equipment

Screw top plastic storage container

CONTAINER – You will need a container with a lid that seals tightly. I fill my alcohol bath and reuse it over and over again. You can use any container that has a screw top lid such as a Mason jar, jam jar, plastic container with a screw top, or any other lid that seals tightly. I have found that a one quart jar or container works best as I often have more than one pipe in the soak at the same time. I use a recycled Oxyclean plastic jar. The screw top lid keeps the liquid from evaporating as well as splashing when you shake it a bit in the process of cleaning the bowl. I have included pictures of several types of jars that I have used. I think the strengths and drawbacks of each are readily clear. I generally use the plastic jars as I have dropped the glass ones in the past or knocked them off the work bench and found a mess that needed to be cleaned up.

Mason Jar with a screw top. I have used wide mouth Mason jars as they give more room for me to get my hand in the jar to add or remove pipe bowls

Wide mouthed plastic storage container

ALCOHOL – For the alcohol I fill the bath with I use the highest percentage isopropyl alcohol that I can get through my local pharmacy. Most of the time I am able to purchase 99% Isopropyl alcohol or Rubbing Alcohol but have also used 91% Isopropyl with no ill effects. I just purchased a bottle of Everclear while traveling and will be trying it out as well. The water content in the 99% Isopropyl is 1% and I find that it evaporates quite quickly once I remove the pipe from the bath and does not saturate the briar. Much has been written about using an alcohol that is not a human consumable form. Many have spoken of the danger of using it in the pipe bowl or in cleaning the stem of a pipe that is going to be put in the mouth. However, I have found that once the pipe has been removed from the alcohol it air dries very quickly. Once I am done working on it there is no remaining alcohol in the bowl.

CLOTH – I use a piece of cotton cloth (a piece of an old tee shirt) to filter the alcohol when I clean the bath monthly or bimonthly. I pour the alcohol through the cloth into an old bowl I have here and then clean out the jar and return the filtered alcohol to the jar.

Setting up the alcohol bath

I wash the new jar or container with hot soapy water and rinse it well. I am not sure that is necessary but it is a habit that I have with any new jars or containers. Once it is dried off I fill the bowl with the isopropyl alcohol up to one inch from the rim. I leave room for displacement as the level rises when I place the bowls in the bath. From experience I have learned that this amount of space leaves room in my container for two or three pipe bowls. Once the alcohol is in the container the bath is ready to go. I put the lid on tightly and set it aside until I need to use it.

Using the alcohol bath

When I have a pipe bowl that I want to soak in the alcohol bath I clean it well before putting it into the bath. I set aside the stem and then ream the bowl and clean out the bowl and shank until the pipe cleaners are clean. There is no need in dropping dirty pipes into the soak. The exception to the cleaning is that I will often leave a caked and tarred rim as found because the alcohol bath will loosen and soften the residue and make removal much easier. Once the pipe is clean I drop it in the bath to soak. It is always fascinating to me to see whether the briar floats or sinks. I have seen both and it is fairly unpredictable. I used to think that lightweight briar floated and by and large it does but there are exceptions. I leave the bowls to soak for a minimum of two hours and a maximum of 8 hours (overnight). Once the soak is over I remove the bowl from the bath, dry it off with a soft cloth and set it aside. The alcohol evaporates quite quickly. If the finish is still spotty or the rustication or sandblast surface still dirty I will scrub it quickly over the bath with a brass bristle tire brush or a tooth brush – dipping it into the alcohol of the bath and scrubbing the surface until it is clean. Once it is clean and the way I want it I dry it off and set it aside. Bowls that have been soaked and cleaned are ready to be sanded or stained within minutes of drying off. I have had no residual effects from soaking the bowls. Once they dry and the pipe sits for a couple of days before smoking there has been no ill effects.

Life expectancy of the alcohol in the bath

I have often been asked how often I change the alcohol in the bath and have to say that I probably don’t do it as much as most people think. I will filter the alcohol either monthly or bi-monthly by pouring it through the cloth that I mentioned above in the equipment portion of this post. I tighten the lid and shake the alcohol bath for several minutes to loosen any sediment in the bottom of the bowl and then pour it. I find that the filtering removes the sediments and floating particles in the alcohol. I then wash the container with warm soapy water to remove grime on the inside of the container and then dry it off and pour the alcohol back in the container. Over time the alcohol changes colour and takes on a rich dark brown patina. It still works very well and I find that the bath will also work well to give the pipe a nice even under patina to whatever stain I want to use on the finished pipe. I suppose that if I wanted to soak a virgin or light coloured bowl I would start with clean, clear alcohol but I have not done that to this point.

Here is a picture of my current alcohol bath and you will note the rich brown colour of the alcohol.