Do All Cork Rods Allow for the Plastic Wrap to Come Off???

[CoolestCornet99]

On 8/2/2020 at 4:11 AM, MickD said:

I expect it will work fine, but have no experience with it.  U-40 is very well known and highly used by custom builders.

Is it important or necessary for me to put on the coat BEFORE my first time fishing with it? Or could I fish it and put it on later?

[MickD]

You can fish it and apply later, but doing it before it is soiled is the best, easiest.  If you put it on later clean the cork with a magic eraser, and maybe sand it if necessary to get the clean cork exposed before applying the sealer.  If I planned to wait I would not take off the plastic until I applied the sealer.

[Guitarfish]

I have never applied sealer.  In fact I just bought some old fiberglass fly rods with cork handles and did the same thing I've always done, and that is get a clean rag wet with rubbing alcohol and wipe them down. Look like new again.

 

I'm not going to sand cork unless I need to fill a hole and level it.  And being a tight wad, I'm not wasting a Magic eraser either, lol.

[roadwarrior]

6 minutes ago, Guitarfish said:

And being a tight wad, I'm not wasting a Magic eraser either, lol.

$7.00 for 9 pads.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Clean-Original-Cleaning-Durafoam/dp/B07M6R4LPN/ref=pd_sbs_121_1/130-2623306-4779340?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07M6R4LPN&pd_rd_r=d3377718-2cb5-41fa-b95f-33adac6ba0f5&pd_rd_w=Lw9a1&pd_rd_wg=0lwMy&pf_rd_p=0b2db3d1-33eb-418a-9672-bb9bd54808e8&pf_rd_r=B51VD6XGA55MNYHCJFD2&psc=1&refRID=B51VD6XGA55MNYHCJFD2

[Guitarfish]

My method is free....-$7.00.  Not saying it's wrong to use them but any thing with alcohol on it will work.

 

But thanks for the link, my wife uses them for lots of stuff.  I'm constantly reminding her not to use them on scratchable surfaces, they will put superfine scratches in finishes.

[GTN-NY]

The couple times I’ve ever cleaned cork grips I’ve used Bonami. Get a wash clothwet, sprinkle some on the cloth and rub the grip down lightly. 

[evo2s197]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:26 PM, roadwarrior said:

Take the plastic off and clean the cork gently with Magic Eraser.

 

Could be worse, like the Loomis guys leaving the price tag sticker on the cork...

[Spankey]

Not all cork is created equal. If you have a few rods from a few different manufacturers, that you fish real hard you will see and know this. Overwhelming majority of my rods are cork. Some I’ve sealed. Some I have not. But do maintain them and some may be 30+ years old. There a 1000 ways to clean them and not be wrong. 

[NYWayfarer]

21 hours ago, Guitarfish said:

I'm not going to sand cork unless I need to fill a hole and level it. 

I save wine corks for this purpose. I sand them down and use wood glue and the shavings as filler.

[Ryan024]

A few people said u40 makes the cork hard as a rock and not feel good.  Is this true?   I don't want to screw up my handle. 

A few people said u40 makes the cork hard as a rock and not feel good.  Is this true?   I don't want to screw up my handle. 

does u40 make the handle hard? Some people in the reviews said thier handles were hard as a rock and didn't like it? 

[MN Fisher]

16 minutes ago, Ryan024 said:

A few people said u40 makes the cork hard as a rock and not feel good.  Is this true?   I don't want to screw up my handle. 

I've put U-40 on both my Furys and my old Diawa 1312 - it made the cork a little firmer, but there's still some 'give' when I grip it.

 

One or two THIN coats - people may have drenched it and that's why it's so hard for them.

[NOC 1]

37 minutes ago, Ryan024 said:

A few people said u40 makes the cork hard as a rock and not feel good.  Is this true?   I don't want to screw up my handle. 

A few people said u40 makes the cork hard as a rock and not feel good.  Is this true?   I don't want to screw up my handle. 

does u40 make the handle hard? Some people in the reviews said thier handles were hard as a rock and didn't like it? 

Maybe it does a little, but if so it is so little that I'm not sure it does at all. I can't tell any difference really outside of the fact that it seems to give the cork a nice velvety touch.