I'm in the process of rebuilding some garage sale rods. I have filled the handles with wood filler and sanded them down.
Is there a sealer other than U-40 that I can get from a hardware store or a big box store?
Thanks

Don

Gunstock oil finish is often used. I would think any oil finish would be fine. I expect the color darkening will be more with oil than U40. I like the oil because it gives more definition to any features in the cork.

Thompsons Water Sealer is about the only thing commercially close to the U-40 Cork Sealer. It won't darken the cork.

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

Are there any other options?

I am building a Great Lakes Trolling rod and I want my foregrip to be sealed. Would spar varnish be too heavy?, what about two light coats?

Thin down some CP and test it on some cork and see how you like the look.

I would never put varnish on a grip. Too heavy and it just doesn't leave the finish that is desired.

One thing to remember with cork. Cork does not accept stain or sealer very well. Basically due to its cell structure, it tends to repel most finishes. If the finish is on the cork, it almost just flakes off, if there is much body to the finish.

If you make the foregrip out of wood, then by all means use spar varnish if you wish. Wood will accept the finish very well.

Be safe

Hello,

As mentioned Tru-Oil will work.

Some consider it sacrilege of good cork, but out of curiosity I have also tried spar varnish, the ACE Hardware brand.

Used 3-5 light coats, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly before re-coating.

Those grips have held up very well, the varnish being just a bit of weight akin to adding a length of diamond wrap and epoxy finish.

I liked how spar varnish darkens the cork too a warm golden butterscotch color..

-chad

Forgot to mention,

Spar varnish gets thinned with mineral spirits..

I love the look of varnish on cork. It is going to add a bit of weight but it looks sexy. It sounds though if you want to keep them looking true to what they looked like orignally the only thing you can find is thompsons water sealer like said before.

Marine varnish on this one:



Thompsons water sealer:

Since I am building a Trolling rod I have decided to try the spar varnish, I dont really want a glossy look, so I am going for two light coats, three at the most, and maybe some light sanding to give some extra tooth for grip. Hopefully it works out, not really worrried about the weight its already a brick house of a rod. (Seeker 1056)

Thanks for the ideas and pics.

Hello,

Jason you may want to try it on some scrap cork first to see if it's the look you want.

I applied the varnish as thin as I could with the rod turning, then allowed almost a week for each coat to cure sufficiently.

Fine scotch-brite pads will also work to knock down the gloss and give the grip a satin look.

-chad

I use the U-40, and then do 2 coats of a good paste wax (Like Johnson's) over this. I used to just do the paste wax. 30+ years ago I used to spray them with scotch Guard. The Wax will cause the cork to darken a little, but it makes the features in the cork stand out, and gives a semi-gloss type effect.

Mike Bradfrod
R.M.B. Fishing Rods
Nampa, Idaho