Once your handles are turned, what do you like best to fill the pits/imperfections?

DR

I haven't had to fill any for quite a while, now. I watched Ralph O'Quinn do this in Charlotte in February and I'm going to try his trick with Rod Bond and a thick mixture of cork dust and a tad of titanium dioxide to lighten the color to match the cork better.

I've always used Duco cement (got it at Wal~Mart) and cork sandings from FINE sandpaper before and it's always worked well for me.

But I think I'm gonna like Ralph's method better...

Putter
Williston, ND

For me it's rod bond or elmers outdoor wood glue mixed with cork dust until it is a very heavy paste. I only use it on the big holes though. I kind of like the look of the smaller imperfections and lines. I also usually put a finish on cork, which darkens it a bit.

Elmer's Wood Filler in Golden Oak....EXACT perfect match.

ANdy Dear
Lamar Manf.

I have tried many fillers and like Andy Dear stated, the Elmer's Wood Filler in "Golden Oak" matches perfect. It blends in so well you can barely tell you have used a filler. Great stuff for natural cork!

DR - I just buy good quality cork and don't worry about filling it. 5 years down the road, fillers fall out. Good cork will still be good cork.



Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Like Matt Davis says ... good cork will still be good cork... but I like slow cure two part epoxy mixed with fine cork dust, with or without titanium dust (or "titanium white paint" which I found to be an excellent additive to this mixture).

I have to admit that I not only don't fill my pits, but I coat my cork with a couple coats of Tru-Oil. This causes the little striations and small pits to darken up a bit. It gives the cork an "antique" look: darkens it, and makes it a little more amber/brown. I think I like it this way because it looks really natural and wood-like. Which, of course, it is. . .

I just never was happy with the look of filled cork. As a rodbuilder, I always noticed the filler. And, I hated the idea that two or three years down the line, the filler would fall out, and would be replaced with dirt and grime. A couple coats of Tru-Oil keeps the dirt and grime away, for the most part.

Granted, this only works if you start with pretty good cork. Pitiful cork with Tru-Oil on it just looks even more pitiful.