My grandfather often made his own paddles, pirogues and tackle. He always painted his cork handles with shellac or spar varnish. Of course he also varnished his shotguns (duck hunter) much to my later dismay!

 

I have always left my cork natural but recently I restored an English three speed bicycle and put cork grip on it and shellacked them. They look so nice and feel so nice and it definitely increases the durability. Of course, grip when wet would need to be considered.

 

What y'all do, anyone varnish or otherwise apply a protective treatment to their cork rod grips?

Wash cork with mild soap and warm water, lightly sand it with 400 paper if needed and it will look new for decades. There are some cork preservers availble, U-40 sealer is popular, but once you lacquer or varnish cork, it's becomes slippery and brittle.

Tom

Magic Eraser to clean them, U40 to keep them looking good. 

I use shrink tubing that I bought from "the Mud Hole".  That way I can color code them for easier extraction from the rod lockers.

 

7 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Magic Eraser to clean them, U40 to keep them looking good. 

 

^ This!!!

Shellac or Varnish on rod cork

NEITHER !

Thanks, I ordered the U-40. Might as well try it.