I have read several different things on this board about finishing cork grips, i.e. stain, tru oil, cork sealer, what is the best and can you stain any cork grip? After you stain one do you still need to put a sealer or tru-oil on it. Please help the more I read the more confused I get. Thanks from this newbie

Harvey,

From my experience, i have stained a burl cork grip, and the stain seemed to hold pretty well in the cork. I topped it off with a urethane spray. I am not sure if it made a difference. I guess it can act as a protectant for the stain from leeching out, or other materials leeching into the cork. It also makes cleaning the handle easier as i have found out with king salmon spawn as it is sticky and is easily cleaned off the well finished cork. I have not had experience using other finishes, as the method that i have been using has worked well for me. Maybe others can add to this.



MI Builder

Hi Harvey,

The pix and quote below was posted by coolgranpabob (It would be so much easier if real names and e-mails were used on the Photo Page)

[www.fishingphotos.net]

"To see how they would turn out I stained some discard half wells grips with Minwax oil base stain, let them dry overnight and then 1 coat of Minwax Spar Urethane. Let that dry overnight and then buffed with fine steel wool. The final texture does not seem to differ much from that of the cork without any finish. "

You can also get more info by doing a Search on this site and type in stain or cork stain

Mike



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2005 06:40PM by Mike Barkley.

Harvey, think of cork the same way you would think of wood. All it is is a soft wood. Stained wood doesn't need a finish, but you'll have to restain it eventually. Same with cork.

I don't really consider cork sealer a finish. It helps hold filler in, and keep dirt out, but it still will need a bit of maintenance here and there. That's just my opinion.

As far as actual finishes, again it's the same as wood. It has a lot to do with opinion. Poly's will work, but personally I don't like the look or feel. Sort of a cheap look and a plastic feel. Most folks tend to prefer Tru oil, which is excellent. I do grips the same way I do gunstocks, which is with Permalyn. Very similar to Tru oil, but in my opinion/experience, it is much more resistant to abuse and the elements.

If you ask 5 people which is the best way to finish cork, you'll get at least 3 different opinions. There are also many old rods out there with cork that has probably never seen a finish that still look good. Not clean, but not damaged either, and with a lot of character.

Tru-Oil for me. It makes regular cork look a antique. It really pulls out the variations of burl cork, and darkens it nicely. I don't mess with "cork seal" anymore, just tru-oil.

Tru-Oil and finish to at least 400grit, if you use any finish at all. Ralph

If at first you don't succeed, go fishing, then try, try again.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2005 09:54PM by Ralph Jones.