I recently stained several of the cork handles on my clients rods that we use on fishing trips for Specks and Reds. They turned out great with a couple of coatings of Spar Urethane Clear Coat.

I want to stain a cork handle and grip with the Sierra Red Stain but wanted to know if anyone has tried this dark of a stain on cork. Will it be too dark to notice the grain in the cork? I have used every spare cork ring I own building rods and have more on order. I do not have a spare ring to run a test on and did not want to ruin a good rod.
Thank you,
Capt. Marvin Engel

Here is a photo of 4 colors of Minwax stain that I tried a couple of years ago, I think the dark stains are just to dark, but that is just my opinion.


[www.rodbuilding.org]

Hey Bob,
Have you ever had any problem with the stain rubbing off, running when it gets wet, , staining your hands,etc?
Now that I have seen the photo that you posted (thank you for doing so) I would really like to try some trim rings inserts with stain.
Looks very sharp
Buzz

Buzz


I appy 1 coat of Minwax oil base stain, let that dry overnight and then 1 coat of Satin Minwax Spar Urethane. Let that dry overnight and then buff with #0000 super fine steel wool. The final texture does not seem to differ much from that of the cork without any finish and it doesn't rub off or stain the hand.

I use this method on all the fly rods I build and have never had a problem or complaint on 100+ rods. The grips also are easy to clean, just wipe of with a damp cloth.

Bob

I did one with Ebony stain. Used Trondak Cork-Seal on top. No issues yet after some 30 days/8 months on the water. Very very easy to redu if it ever rubs through.

Gentlemen:

When you say you apply the stain to the cork, are you dipping the entire cork handle into a can of stain or do you apply with brush, etc?

Thank you for your advise, Bryan.

I use a rag, same as if I was doing wood. Here is another sampling of stain, with and without topcoating.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

A dark stain makes the cork look like distressed wood. I am guessing that this will be too dark for your tastes. You can mix a little red into a lighter color if you like. Or rub on a lighter color first and go over that with the red, which will not be near as dark over the lighter color. After the stain dries, seal it with a couple of coats of Tru-oil or poly.