# Cork grips - U40 cork seal



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks more info on where you get it


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Look on google, lots of places have it. Sunrisesports tackle on ebay, or mud hole. It's cheap and one bottle will cover a dozen rods. If the grips are pitted you will need to fill them with a cork filler and sand them flush prior to sealing. If you seal over the voids they will still allow for further breakdown.


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## BayStYat (Sep 12, 2012)

I use this on all my custom builds and repairs. Works great.


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## Capt. TJ Saunders (May 9, 2016)

That's a great thanks.
I just repaired a few grips, probably the hard way. I sanded down corks, and mixed gorilla glue to a paste, then filled and sanded the cork clean. Came out looking great. Now to get some sealant to cover it.


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## BayStYat (Sep 12, 2012)

Capt. TJ Saunders said:


> That's a great thanks.
> I just repaired a few grips, probably the hard way. I sanded down corks, and mixed gorilla glue to a paste, then filled and sanded the cork clean. Came out looking great. Now to get some sealant to cover it.


http://elmers.com/product/detail/e887

Easiest way to repair and best looking results


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Capt. TJ Saunders said:


> That's a great thanks.
> I just repaired a few grips, probably the hard way. I sanded down corks, and mixed gorilla glue to a paste, then filled and sanded the cork clean. Came out looking great. Now to get some sealant to cover it.


What did you mix into it? The gorilla glue dries tough as nails but it expands. Did that create any issues for you?

As for the u40 I won't fish a new rod till it's been applied.


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## Capt. TJ Saunders (May 9, 2016)

el9surf said:


> What did you mix into it? The gorilla glue dries tough as nails but it expands. Did that create any issues for you?
> 
> As for the u40 I won't fish a new rod till it's been applied.



I made a mix with cork dust from sanded wine corks (not the stained end clearly) and made a paste. I had no issue with expansion causing issues. Just sanded off the excess, first a rough spot sand with some 120, then a overall grip sand with some 300. Looks great. Fills the voids nicely.


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## bluewater23t (Dec 3, 2015)

I have built a lot of rods with cork, both fly and spinning rods. Cork seal works great, but can be expensive if you have a lot of rods. Someone years ago turned me on to Thompson's Waterseal, stuff you can buy at Home Depot in a gallon jug for cheap. Works as a great substitute.


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## Danny Moody (Jan 22, 2016)

el9surf,

Since you and I had been talking about this earlier this week, I thought I would bring this topic back into light. 

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the topic of cork sealing. From that, it seems that guys who custom build and use a fair amount of filler on their cork like to seal it afterwards to protect the filler from working its way out.

With high end factory rods like Sage, though, the cork used is not the typical rings that are purchased for normal rod builds. They use very selective Flor cork that is typically free of voids.

I would like to hone down the reasoning for using cork sealer on factory rods made with the highest cork quality like Flor cork.


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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

So I started using the U40 Cork seal only on my custom rods. Most are made with high quality cork, better than what you would get on say a St. Croix spinning rod but not Flor cork quality. I made one rod however with "Super Grade" cork. Cant say if its Flor cork but it feel damn close to what I get on my high end Sage rods. Over the course of a couple years I was amazed at how clean all of my custom rod's cork was compared to my factory made rods. All about the same age, and get the same amount of use. The cork seal not only helps the cork hold up better to wear but keeps it looking clean a lot longer. Just this past weekend I repaired the cork on some old spinning rods by doing the wood filler/cork dust combo. After I sanded and sealed them I thought, what the hell. So I pulled out every factory spinning rod and fly rod I owned, sanded the dirt off with 800 grit, finished them off with 1000, and sealed the cork. Now all of my rods, old and new have beautifully bright and amazingly smooth cork that is sealed from the elements. I feel like I have all brand new rods! I highly recommend taking a fine sand paper to any rod you own, restoring the color and enhancing the feel, and then sealing them. It makes any rod feel $100 more expensive.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I didn't know you could lightly sand cork that way; I'm definitely going to try it. I always throw a coat of U40 on a new rod before I fish it the first time and annually I scrub the cork with Magic Eraser and reseal. It keeps them looking pretty decent.


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## KnotHome (Jul 21, 2009)

There is no set standard between flo grade, super grade A++ etc cork that I've been able to find. Consensus seems to be if you have almost no voids, it probably meets one of these classifications.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

Do you mix the cork seal with the woodfiller bay? Care to give a step by step? Also, Ive seen an old loomis flyrod with the cork totally shot so I'm not sure there is any way to determine up front if theres voids or not. Eventually you might need to do this to any quality level cork.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Danny Moody said:


> el9surf,
> 
> Since you and I had been talking about this earlier this week, I thought I would bring this topic back into light.
> 
> ...


Danny, 
Do you have a sage rod that has a fair amount of usage over the past year? If so post up a good picture of the handle. If not I will find a few pics on ebay. Plenty of used sage rods to pick from.

I will take a picture of my 7wt salt and my 8 wt proaxis. Both have been my workhorses over the past 16 months. Both handles still look new. 

Regardless of the quality of the cork, the u40 provides a barrier to staining and pitting. Even the best cork will develop a little pitting if used heavily without being sealed.

A bottle cost 8 bucks and will probably coat a dozen rod handles if not more. You only need one coat, that's it. Once it's on you wouldn't be able to tell me if a handle was sealed or not. 

I wouldn't mix it into the filler if you are redoing a handle. Just fill it, sand it down, wipe off the sanding dust and seal it.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

el9surf, great thread and great info. I've heard of cork sealer in the past but never tried any. I really haven't had any pitting in the cork, but most of the rods I've owned had/have decent cork. Personally, I love cork and not a huge fan of non-cork rods, even in my spinning and conventional rods.

So again, I've never sealed them, but if they get grubby looking, I'll scrub them with a Brillo pad and some Dawn dish washing liquid (rinsing good and letting it dry) and it usually does the trick for me.

Still, I like the idea of sealing the cork on a new rod 1st before I start using it. I think I'll try that on my next rod I get and see how it does.

Thanks!

Ted


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## T Bone (Jul 24, 2014)

el9surf said:


> Danny,
> Do you have a sage rod that has a fair amount of usage over the past year? If so post up a good picture of the handle. If not I will find a few pics on ebay. Plenty of used sage rods to pick from.
> 
> I will take a picture of my 7wt salt and my 8 wt proaxis. Both have been my workhorses over the past 16 months. Both handles still look new.
> ...


Let's see some pics, el9


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Every so often, when my cork grips get a little grungy, I hold them over the kitchen sink, lightly rinse and then use a Scotch brite plastic brillo pad with some dishwashing liquid. Scrub, rinse, pat dry. They look as good as new. 

Haven't experienced any pitting on either my Loomis or St. Croix rods.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

T Bone said:


> Let's see some pics, el9



Will post this evening


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Both rods pictured are used as my go to rods. They are both around 2 years old, give or take a few months and have seen a good amount of usage. Both were coated with U40 before they were fished. Top is a 7 wt sage Salt, bottom is an 8 wt Hardy Proaxis x.

The cork quality on the sage is better, less filler. Having said that the filler is visible on the proaxis, but it's still in the shape it came to me in. 

It probably cost less than a dollar to coat a handle and about 5 minutes. I can't think of a good reason not to.


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## T Bone (Jul 24, 2014)

el9surf said:


> Both rods pictured are used as my go to rods. They are both around 2 years old, give or take a few months and have seen a good amount of usage. Both were coated with U40 before they were fished. Top is a 7 wt sage Salt, bottom is an 8 wt Hardy Proaxis x.
> 
> The cork quality on the sage is better, less filler. Having said that the filler is visible on the proaxis, but it's still in the shape it came to me in.
> 
> It probably cost less than a dollar to coat a handle and about 5 minutes. I can't think of a good reason not to.


Damn, that Salt looks brand new


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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

I hope everyone who has viewed this has been convinced of the U40. It was an afterthought when I first started rod building until I finally got some. Now I think of more as a rod owning product than a rod building product.


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## Daz (Jul 14, 2015)

Ordered some last night and got notice today that it's on the way. It better be as good as you guys say or I'll hunt you down and extract your share of the $9 I've got invested...


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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

DWJensen said:


> Ordered some last night and got notice today that it's on the way. It better be as good as you guys say or I'll hunt you down and extract your share of the $9 I've got invested...


The only way to screw it up is to apply too much! Less is more


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Pierson said:


> The only way to screw it up is to apply too much! Less is more


Apply only enough to wet the cork, 2nd coat isn't necessary. If you put a little too much on just brush out evenly and try and spread it around, it will soak in a little. Rotate the rod every few seconds as you are brushing it on. Once applied go back and rotate the rod a few times in the first 5 - 10 min while it's drying to avoid any drip collection spots.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

T Bone said:


> Damn, that Salt looks brand new


Its definitely not new, it has boated a lot of fish and seen a good amount of use.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

The proaxis looks new out of the wrapper as well. That's just how the cork looked once I wiped all the dust off with a wet rag.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

I use a cheap thin 1 or 2 inch wide bristled brush to apply. The kind you find at Ace for a dollar. Just give the bristles a few pulls before starting to make sure it sheds any loose bristles.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Zika said:


> Every so often, when my cork grips get a little grungy, I hold them over the kitchen sink, lightly rinse and then use a Scotch brite plastic brillo pad with some dishwashing liquid. Scrub, rinse, pat dry. They look as good as new.
> 
> Haven't experienced any pitting on either my Loomis or St. Croix rods.


That's exactly what I do.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

I guess this would also work on used cork once its washed down as you guys have detailed in previous posts?


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

crboggs said:


> I guess this would also work on used cork once its washed down as you guys have detailed in previous posts?


Yes just give a light sand and wipe it down so it's free of dust.


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