I did a search. Couldn't find anything definite on dyeing cork. Can anybody tell me how to dye cork rings? I would like to try green, red and blue. I would appreciate any knowlege or experience that you have had.
Thanks
Terry

Terry

My experience with dyeing cork is somewhat mixed. It seems that natural or burl cork is not very absorbent. The best results I have come up with is to shape and sand to the desired specifications. Then stain the cork as you see fit. If you want alternating colors then just tape off the area not to be covered with painters tape. If you find that the stain is too bright then you can lightly rub or buff by hand until the desired effect is achieved.

Since the stain isn't really penetrating very far into the cork you will need to seal it after the stain is dry. I have used polyurethane and U40's cork sealer with good results.

As a side note, if you use 3M's blue painters tape and leave it on to long over Perma Gloss it will lift the PG right off!

Hope this helps.

John

Terry, I'm getting ready to build my first fly rod, and have been testing some dyes on scrap pieces of cork. I picked up some Ritz dye at the grocery store and did some test samples. I am very happy with the results.......now I just need to settle on a color. I think you can also use food coloring, but the Ritz is cheap, and you get enough in one bottle to stain everything in the house. lol.

Has anyone tried a pressure cooker to dye cork. I imagine the cooking time will probably be limited but do you think it would drive the dye into the cork?

try the search again, just this time spell "dying". You didn't spell it wrong, I just got some good info when I performed the search that way

Thanks. I'll give it a try
Terry