Hi guys,

I have a couple fly rod's I'm building where the fighting butts I purchased are a much lighter color cork than the fullwell handles. Is there a way I can dye or tint the cork to maybe give them a grey appearance or blue or perhaps stain them to match the color of the fullwells?

Cheers.
David Sims

I be interested you the answers to your post David. I got's the same question. My rod all dark dark green with black guides.....but the cork and reel seat. I was pondering myself if I could darken the cork grip. Glad you asked the question.

Cork is a vary dense material and does not dye well. What I have done in the past is use a stain when I get the shade I want then cover it with a cork sealer or urethane wood sealer. What happens with cork is the dies do not penetrate in to the cork its self and just lays on top. There is a way to dye the whole cork but it is lengthy and dangerous process called fuming ,old time wood workers use this process to change wood colors Cork is a vary dense material and does not dye well. What I have done in the past is use a stain when I get the shade I want then cover it with a cork sealer , or urethane wood sealer. What happens with cork is the dies do not penetrate in to the cork its self and just lays on top. There is a way to dye the whole cork but it is lengthy and dangerous process called fuming ,old time wood workers use this process to change wood colors

I use Minwax stain for all my grips, it comes in 20 colors. My favorites are cherry and golden pecan. Below is a link to a photo on the old photo board of 4 sample grips from last year.


[www.fishingphotos.net]



Here a couple full wells grips stained with cherry, reel seat inserts and fighting butts are redwood.

[www.fishingphotos.net]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2005 02:49PM by Bob Crook.

The Miniwax comes is a bunch of colors. Stay on the light side of the color chart because the cork darkens a bunch. I use 5 coats (the last coat takes 24 hours to dry) with no other finish, although the suggestion to use 2 coats with a coat of Tru-oil should work well. When in doubt try a lighter stain first, you can redo (without letting the first stain dry) with a darker stain (like cherry) if your first color doesn't lo good. Like Bob, I have stained all my grips.

I would bleach the grips, not stain the butts. This process is performed using wood bleach. Fender used this technique to match different colored pieces of alder before applying the translucent yellow base of their two-/three-color sunburst finishes. Here is a link to an article about bleaching wood: [antiquerestorers.com]

You can also tint about 2 CC's of clear thined out to a watery state. I use the Tap Plastics tints and wipe it on with a paper towel. I try too keep the material to a minimum because they can get too slick
Experiment

Another Flock It Application: Any Color, Functional, Attractive, Comfortable, Long Wearing. Use the search feature of the board and take a look see. Check out Rodmaker Magazine for feature article on Flocked Grips. You will find that you have a very very nice option to get where your are headed.

Gon Fishn