Cork sealer questions

[captainstevo]

I am an avid muskie fisherman and as everyone knows, there is alot of cork in a muskie rod and that cork spends alot of time in the sun and is getting pretty beat up. I have used the U-40 cork seal from Cabelas in the past and am pretty happy with the results, but am wondering if anyone has done any experimenting with any other products. I have been looking at a quart of marine polyurethane that is on the shelf in the shop and thinking that might work. I was also thinking that may really screw up a nice handle.

Does anyone have any experimentation do's or don'ts that they have experienced in the past. I am just scratching my head and trying to get other experience before testing on my own.

[upnorth]

I have never done and cork sealing. But I have heard of people using tongue oil with good results. Some of this going to be what you want for an end result and then find a product to match what are looking for.

[hydro]

Do you really want to seal the cork??? For me, the beauty of cork is the feel of its soft yet grippy texture, wet or dry. If you put a sealer on it it will get hard and loose that feel. Why not just resurface it with some 220 grit sandpaper. That will give you a finish like it was when new and clean it up at the same time.

Whatever you do, don't use varnish. That will ruin the handle.

[Wildabeast]

If you put a sealer on it it will get hard and loose that feel.

No it doesn't. The U-40 works very well and does not make your grip hard or loose feel. A grip feels slightly different, but not objectionable when using U-40 and if you don't like it just sand it off. A decent tung oil will work, and some folk's like Tru-oil. I like a thin application of U-40 followed by a white scotch brite pad applying a bit of paste wax.

[A.W.Wolfram]

I second U-40. Nice product.