I'm sure this has been done before, but what's the best way to clean up a dirty cork handle on a fly rod?

Philip

Soap, water, elbow grease (and if really needed) a green Scotch Brite pad

I use liquid dish soap, water and an old (soft) toothbrush.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works best for me.

Water, simple green and a brush. Green pad if needed.

Not to hijack but.....why not give it a light sanding?

Joe,
The reason to not to give the handle a light sanding, is that every time that you sand the handle, it gets smaller.
If you do this a number of time over a number of years, you will end up with a handle that is too small to be comfortable.

Roger

Mr Clean Magic Eraser pads work great!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Wipe with DNA, let dry and then have at it with baking soda and a toothbrush. IF you still need additional cleaning, use 0000 steel wool. The idea is to get all the possible dirt off the cork before doing any abrasion - otherwise you will knock the dirt into the refreshed cork. As noted above, don't use sandpaper.

Sand it with Fine 400 grit paper. It works the best if you have a power wrapper. It only takes one or two drags up and down the handle and there is barely any cork dust. Remember to recoat with cork sealer after you clean it with any of these methods.

Joe Willsen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to hijack but.....why not give it a light
> sanding?

Joe,
A light sanding will work fine. If you lightly sand it, no one would ever notice a difference in the cork diameter. I do this all the time for used rods I sell. To really make the handle look new, use a little wood filler and fill in any pores.

Best,
TC

Thomas Cayman - AKA Robert Russell

ROBERT M. RUSSELL
KYLE TX 78640



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2011 08:44PM by Moderator.

Thanks for the great advice guys.

Philip

Seal it. easier to clean

Bill - willierods.com

Cork, without being proceded by the word "burl", is just a dirty word to me. If it were me, I'd clean in thoroughly with Denatured alcohol, give it a light sanding and then top it with Rattan. There's a good tutorial or two on how to do this over at rodbuildingtutorials.com.

I'm with you, Torin!!!

Mike (Southgate, MI)
If I don't want to, I don't have to and nobody can make me (except my wife) cuz I'm RETIRED!!

Philip:

I just found a product called Cork Magic, It is produced by Frazier Marine Group. I purchased mine from Northern Bass Supply in brentwood New Hampshire. They are a high end mail order retailer, You can order the product at 1-800-227-7032. Ask for gary or sandy.
I just used it on my bass rods last weekend and it works great.

Realizing that I'm probably getting into this thread after Phillip solved his grip problem I just used a Scotch-Brite Soap Dispensing Dishwand and it did a great job of cleaning a dirty grip. It's a hollow plastic handle that holds dish soap with a Scotch-Brite sponge scrubber on the business end.