Cork Handle Rebuild

Started by Lumberjack93, July 18, 2011, 03:13:14 PM

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Lumberjack93

Say, I have a Falcon rod that I use with my Shimano TLD15.  I just love the rod and would never part with it.  I do need to do some work on the cork handles however.  It's a Falcon coastal edition 20-40 Heavy with cork handles. 



Anyway, cork handles lose some of the filler material and, over time, get pits in handle.  I was wondering if I could use a wood filler like you would get at Lowes to fill in these pits.  Has anyone else here experienced this with cork handles over time? 

Lumberjack93

Bryan Young

I have not found a wood filler that is spongy like cork.  It will make that area you are filling hard and will be uncomforable to your hands.

Unfortunatley, it's been years since working with cork, and do not have any recommendations.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Limey

The way I treat the old cork handles if you don't want to replace them and still use the rod is:

Use fine glass paper (I got 80 grit) to clean the cork being careful not to scratch any chrome fittings or the rod blank. It should clean up with light pressure. Dust the cork off and remove any loos particles.

Get some matt / non-gloss spirit based clear varnish (I use polyurethene) and thin it 50/50 with thinners (I use white spirit). Then with a soft brush start rubbing it in to the old cork. keep going until no more will soak in, then go back and have another go before it dries too much. Place in a warm spot and allow to dry hard.

Get the cork from a wine bottle and rub it on some glass paper and collect the dust (drink the wine afterwards and not before unless you want to file off your own fingerprints off). Mix the dust with some PVA glue into a pliable putty/paste and use an old table knife to force into the holes and cracks etc. Allow to dry throughly until hard and gently smooth down any lumps or bumps with fine glass paper.

Then apply a couple of coats of your varnish thinned only slightly (say 75/25).

That should repair and seal the cork and leave it with a matt finish that won't be too slippery.

Hope this helps.

Limey


Lumberjack93

Limey, excellent idea.  I appreciate the feedback.

I'm going to give this a go this weekend.

Thanks again.

LJ93

CJDuncan

I have been doing a couple of repairs lately and have an odd suggestion you may consider.  I tool an older cork handle from a rod I was stripping and sanded it to a nub, then took the cork dust and mixed it with the wood filler to create something that could fill the voids that have been created over the years.  If a complete strip isn't on the table, this is something to consider.

winston61

I use 91% rubbing alcohol to clean the cork, just saturate a paper towel and clean it up. Let it get good and dry and apply semi gloss or matte finish. The idea of using ground cork and glue for filler sounds like an excellent idea. And I strongly advocate the drinking of wine.




Quote from: Limey on July 18, 2011, 07:44:06 PM
The way I treat the old cork handles if you don't want to replace them and still use the rod is:

Use fine glass paper (I got 80 grit) to clean the cork being careful not to scratch any chrome fittings or the rod blank. It should clean up with light pressure. Dust the cork off and remove any loos particles.

Get some matt / non-gloss spirit based clear varnish (I use polyurethene) and thin it 50/50 with thinners (I use white spirit). Then with a soft brush start rubbing it in to the old cork. keep going until no more will soak in, then go back and have another go before it dries too much. Place in a warm spot and allow to dry hard.

Get the cork from a wine bottle and rub it on some glass paper and collect the dust (drink the wine afterwards and not before unless you want to file off your own fingerprints off). Mix the dust with some PVA glue into a pliable putty/paste and use an old table knife to force into the holes and cracks etc. Allow to dry throughly until hard and gently smooth down any lumps or bumps with fine glass paper.

Then apply a couple of coats of your varnish thinned only slightly (say 75/25).

That should repair and seal the cork and leave it with a matt finish that won't be too slippery.

Hope this helps.

Limey



Dominick

Quote from: winston61 on July 27, 2011, 03:31:38 PM
I strongly advocate the drinking of wine.
I second the motion.  Make it a fine Zin ;D.  Dominick
Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Limey

Home made elderberry wine is good stuff to drink whilst repairing a rod by a dim light in the garage, I find this works especially well when smoking a cigarette made of home grown tobacco with one eye shut because of the acrid smoke. Some of the results have been spectacular! I find it best to use the rods repaired like this for night time fishing and you cant see the damage that you did to a perfectly good rod!

Tight lines

Limey

Cowbass

Cork is naturally porous  so they actually use cork dust to fill all the holes and make it nice and pretty. It starts looking crappy when you start loosing the filler. The dust and glue should do the trick
SHUT UP AND FISH!!!