can you dye cork? What would you use, and will it penetrate all the way through? I want to dye it before gluing up and shaping. i plan to seal the cork with tru-oil after shaping so the dye should not run when wet, right? What are your thought/ experiences.
Thanks,
John

Rodbuilding, cheaper than therapy.

You'll have a very hard time getting dye into the cork.

............

You can try a alcoline dye. Try Mohawk wood stain products

Good Wraps Bob

I doubt any dye/stain will penetrate right through the cork. Cork is too dense. It will give you a surface cover that like you say, you can seal with Tru-oil or the likes.

IF I really had to try this, I would incorporate the use of a vacuum system. Using vacuum pressure will force the pores in the cork to open, allowing penetration of the material. As to what extent, I don't know ... but it would definitely penetrate much more than a simple soaking.

Should you decide to give it a shot - let us know the outcome.

I like the vacuum idea. i may test a few pieces in a vacuum sealed bag. I plan to let it soak for a day or so. I will post results when done.

Rodbuilding, cheaper than therapy.

Not sure about natural cork but I've dyed a grip that I made out of the colored bul rings. I used Minwax water-based stain from the big box store and I had them tint it until I got the desired color. As expected, the stain did not penetrate very deep but it actually holds up very well. The guy I made it for has been fishing it for almost a year with no need for a touch-up. I would imagine that natural cork would work well until it was scraped, gouged, scratched, etc. I have some nasty looking rings I might try it on, the minimum qty for the custom stain was 1qt so I have plenty of that too. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Steve

What I had to do was tint clear ---after shaping --- coat the handle, then coat again to protect it from rubbing off.

Bill - willierods.com

I have used a old nylon. I spin it at a high speed , this well put a dark petinia on the cork

Good Wraps Bob

I've been able to darken cork a couple of shades with minwax stain, but it doesn't really dye well.

Terry

I am going to try and make full colored cork. Green in particular. I am using green burl and want some solid dark green accent rings to add in. I will start my experiment in the next few days.

Rodbuilding, cheaper than therapy.

Cork is "closed cell" so it does not absorb fluids. Remember the old cork net floats that lasted for years adrift in the oceans, if they absorbed they'd sink, but didn't.

You may be able to get a shallow surface stain, and then coat with something to protect.

Dying cork is no problem at all.

Any good quality paint supplier will help you.

The tints do not penetrate very deeply, so you will need to seal the cork afterward.

Cork seal, is good. Or Bees wax if you have a lathe and can really work with the wax.

Great colours available and great finishes can be obtained.

There are no problems at all, in my opinion.

Paul.

I fish therefore I am.
www.hookeduprods.com

Just buy a pack of rit dye.
Boil up a pot of water, put in the dye, throw in the rings and dye away. Be sure to rotate the rings, and get a block to keep all of the rings submerged while dying.

The dye actually does a pretty good job.

After dying - let sit for a couple of days and then do a good rinse with cold water to get off all of the excess dye that will come off in normal use without first rinsing.

You will be generally pleased with the general and long lasting results.

Take care

Roger

p.s.
I assume that you are dying cork rings only - not glued up handles. Also, I assume that you are using epoxy to glue the rings together after dying, rinsing and drying completely.
After the final rinse, I would put the rings in an oven and dry at 200 degrees for a couple of days to get all of the moisture out of the cork before gluing up.

Roger

I would also rinse with White venigar this well set the dye. Any way thats what they do with cloths

Good Wraps Bob

After reading the replies--interesting ideas. I would question how UV stable the dyed cork would be. You might want to put some out in the sun for a few days and see how it weathers.