Building a rod for myself and thiking about staining the cork with Minwax and then covering the stain with Minwax urethane. Are there any reasons not to do this - will it make the grip slick when wet?
Thanks,
Brad

I tint thined clear with tap plastics tints. The brown looks just like wood stain. Mix well and then wipe on.
Check the color first to see if you have the right amount of color.
If you use a wood stain, wipe it on to shade, then if you want just a coat of clear wiped on. ( light coat ) You don't want a heavy coat of clear. makes the cork slippery. Been there.

It will feel different from bare cork, not necessarily more slippery, but different. You may or may not like it. Try it on some spare cork, a short section off the blank, to find out for yourself. I just tried that with Minwax, followed by Tru Oil, followed by buffing with 600 grit sandpaper. Looks good, but don't like the feel much.

Don't cover with the urethane. Use 5 coats of non-urethane stain. The last 2 coats will take 24 hours to dry. You will have a slight sheen to the cork, but it will not feel odd or slick. The cork looks 500% better.