I would like to put a waterslide decal on a cork fore grip. I was thinking to put a coat of Permagloss on the cork, then the decal and another top coat of Permagloss. Has anyone tried this.

I did try searching for this but could not find it

Thanks for any feedback you can give.

You may be OK with the undercoat, but top coating with Permagloss will destroy the decal. Permagloss is a hot solution!

But I see no reason why it would not work with wrap epoxy. I have a rod with white polyurethane (seat shims formed by sanding and painted white) that were covered with Pro Kote and the decals AND the white are still color true after about 5 years and probably 5 weeks running around on a flats boat in Belize and the Bahamas. + hanging by an east window for the rest of the time. Give it a try.

The problem with a decal on a cork base will be the pits. The label must be affixed to a clean, flat surface, else either air will be trapped under the label or the label will wrinkle. So, whatever you use as the base finish needs to level fill the area where the label will be placed. You might need to fill the pits in the label area then put down an undercoat of epoxy.

You will need a base of epoxy on which to put the decal.

Tony,
Just simplify your life a bit, move forward of the fore grip and put your decal on the blank.

The decal will look great in that location and will be perfect and long lasting with next to 0 work.

But, it is of course your choice.

Enjoy the holidays.

I used to do it a lot and it can look nice. Coat of epoxy, decal, coat of epoxy - good to go!

update - I did an undercoat of Permagloss to seal and level the cork, then applied the water slide decal and let dry. Covered edges with clear nail polish then a coat of TM epoxy. It is on the dryer now. I'll post a picture when it is done. I really like the way it came out.

Roger - I have some wrap and other decals just after the fore grip so that was not an option.