Testing it out....
Anyone who does this I would apprecite some observations. Will this stuff make the handle slippery when wet? I would hate to drop my first one in the drink. The cork is a fairly good grade. apply with coffee filter? how many coat do you use? buff? etc...
Thanks

It makes the cork much darker. Not slippery though. I am going to try a light stain with a polyurethane finish to see what color I get.

One or two coats will bring out the grain in burl and will seal regular cork. It will not make your grip slippery. I normally brush it on, although I rarely put anything on my cork unless I'm using burl.

.................

Sense cork is dense you really do not get much penetration. You might try burnishing the stain in to the cork. I have had good luck with wrapping a pre made cork handle in a wet rag and put it in the microwave wave and nuke it for about1 min. By doing this it opens the cork so you can get a deeper sealer or stain penetration. Then I burnish it to a hight or satin gloss. I have never had a problem with getting a sticky handle
Good Wraps Bob

I use Tru-oil on all my Burl! It's great! Depending on the number of coats, you can get a gloss, matte or anything in between. Really brings out the grain and it is NOT slippery when wet

Mike

I've been doing the smaller handles on ultra light rods with several coats of Tru-oil to a high gloss finish by hand rubbing with my fingers. I have done a couple of my personal rods the same way. They do not get slippery and seem to repel dirt and grime very well, the grips are still glossy even after almost a whole fishing season up here in the Northeast.

The way I chose to do it was to apply it with a glove, I don't like chemicals on my skin. Learned a lot in Organic Chem. while in college! I let it dry for at least 2 hours, then lightly buff it with 0000 steel wool, then wipe with a cotton cloth and reapply. I do this 2 -5 times, with the last coat being air dried for 24 hours before I buff it with the cloth. I have found that less desireable cork looks much better when coated with Tru Oil. With a few coats, it will have some shine if buffed, looks a bit like wood. Cork I would normally toss out looks a lot nicer with this technique. I use it on my "bang around rods". I find that if you do not recover the bottle quickly, it degrades the prodcut. I take some out via a small hole I push through the foil cover, then put the top on, and do this as many times as I need to cover the grip. I get mine via one of my firearms wholesalers so I tend to buy the larger bottle. I share it with my gun stocks too, same technique, same beautiful results.
Ray

I too took organic chemistry but it was a long long time ago and I did not learn too much. The business I was in had good access to benzene, acetone and MEK. I washed my complete arms up to my elbows for over twenty years two times a day in one of the above solvents- really had clean arms. I have outlasted the 30 year OSHA limit for overexposure to this type of stuff - no skin cancer - and really have no problems spreading True Oil with my fingers! For all you young builders wanting to live a long life heed the advice of the above posters and show the chemicals a lot of respect where necessarry. I have not seen the MSDS Sheets for True Oil but the people who sell it are required to have the sheets in their possesion. Someone should post the MSDS sheets on the board for MEK and Acetone - sure would settle a lot of questions.

LSU and Georgia tomorrow afternoon - which thread color will it be next week - purple and gold or red and white. The Dog decals from Jimi really are gross looking to a Tiger fan!

Gon Fishn

Bob...when you say burnish, is this the same as buffing? If not what do you use?
Thanks for the great replies!

I'm with Raymond , 0000 steel wool after a few coats , and a day to dry. Takes off the bright shine . Looks classy
John

The times I've use Tru Oil and Tung Oil, I've had excellent results. I've done a lot of gun stock work and have long since switched to Laurel Mountain Permalyn. I've found it to be far more durable and protective than the oils, yet it works, feels and looks exactly the same, if not working easier. It's the only thing I will put on a gun stock, so why not a rod grip?

The only times I use oil now is when I run out of Permalyn. The only place that stocks it with any fair amount of consistency is Brownells but even they are out of stock on occasion.

For Bill and anybody else interested, here are links to the MSDS for Tru oil and Acetone. And I also have used nothing but my fingers applying finish.

[www.birchwoodcasey.com]

[www.bu.edu]

I think Ralph O' Quinn bathes in Acetone...and he's like 81 and could probably whip most of our butts. In fact given the opportunity he probably would!

Andy Dear
Lamar Reel Seats

That's for sure Andy ---- 81 ??!! Wow

Try buffing with a coffee filter. No tiny bits of wire all over. Ralph

So Mick, lets take the Permalyn topic a little futher. I saw there is Sealer and Finish listed on the Brownells web site. Do you use the sealer first then the finish or just one or the other ?? Which one do you use ?? How many coats and what prep work do you use between coats if you use more than one ?? About, how far would 4 oz go ?? Thanks,

Rick

Rick,
I started out using the sealer, but found that thinning the finish with mineral spirits worked just as well. Basically, that's all the sealer is, a thinned version. I do it on hard wood, but I've found that on softer wood and on cork, the sealer isn't required. A quick coat of finish is all you need, giving it a good day to soak in and dry.

Again, it is the same as working with tung or Tru-oil. You can use one or two thin coats for a protective matte finish, or put on as many as 6 for a high gloss look, which you can then buff down to semi-gloss if you like that look. On cork, I use 3, sometimes 4 coats. A light sanding between coats gives a better result, but if you don't have dust or anything on the last layer, which you'll be able to feel, just put another coat on.

I've gotten up to 6 rifle stocks in the past with a 4 oz. can without being stingy, so that comes out to roughly a whole bunch of grips. Going by how much I use on a cork grip to get it how I like it, I would imagine something like 40 grips or more, easily enough.

To report cork with tru oil, should I sand first then recoat?

To report cork with tru oil, should I sand first then recoat?

To report cork with tru oil, should I sand first then recoat?

sorry about the my ? Coming out that many times. I did not know it came out 3 times. Till I looked at it. I meant to say " to recoat..."