# restoring old cork



## BOB350RX (May 27, 2011)

hey guys last year i neglected most of my fishing equipment, and im paying for it now  , alot of my rods show alot of uv damage, faded color,cracking clear, though most of them are not affected by most of the damage, the cork handles are dried out and super rough feeling,and it drives me crazy, although the are not expensive rods by far i dont want to replace them, i have never realy spent alot on rods, cause im hard on them. pleas any tips or tricks anyone has come up with to help me with my ignorance would be awesome!!!


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## dixie_boysles (May 27, 2011)

When my cork handles get dirty, i just scrup them really hard with Simple Green and a rag and they look like brand new. you can sand them with fine grit sandpaper to get that outer layer off


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## Derek (May 27, 2011)

dry steel wool or super fine sand paper. and pitting can be filled in with wood putty or better yet a mixture of cork dust and glue


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## BOB350RX (May 27, 2011)

THANKS GUYS


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## Captain Ahab (May 27, 2011)

for about $15.00 you can just replace them (and make the rod "custom")

https://www.acidrod.com/corkGrips.html


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## BOB350RX (May 27, 2011)

Captain Ahab said:


> for about $15.00 you can just replace them (and make the rod "custom")
> 
> https://www.acidrod.com/corkGrips.html


THANKS IM GONNA HAVE TO TRY THIS I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY IT JUST NEVER HAD TO NERVE TO


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## juggernoob (May 27, 2011)

Use Mr Cleaner Eraser to clean the cork, then fill the holes and cracks with Elmers Golden Oak Wood Filler, let it dry then lightly sand the wood filler, and then some U-40 Cork Seal. Or just put rod handle wrap over them.


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## swcr (May 27, 2011)

To replace the grips you need to be prepared to remove all the guides on the butt section of your blank and rewrap them after installing the new grips because the new grips will need to be slid down the blank from the tip.


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## fender66 (May 27, 2011)

Don't know if this will work, but I've thought about this several times.

Birkenstock makes a cork sealer for their cork shoe beds. Shoes take quite a beating, so this might be good stuff to use on rod handles too??
https://www.1birkenstockcostamesa.com/_e/Arch_Support_Accessories/product/925/birkenstock_cork_life.htm

Also found this comment on a rod building forum:
The old trick to cleaning cork handles was to use the left over box of Baking soda from the refrigerator and a toothbrush. Mix it into a paste and scrub away. This has always worked. Sanding works but I found that left over dust settles in the cracks and falls out after putting the tung oil on.

And....here's a step by step to cleaning your cork rods.
https://www.rod-crafting.com/resource/articles/clean-cork.html

Let us know how and if any of this works.


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## BOB350RX (Jun 1, 2011)

THANKS GUYS FOR ALL THE SUGGESTIONS IM GONNA HAVE TO WAIT ON THE ACTUAL OUTCOME ON ALL THIS GOT ALOT OF PROJECT AT HOME GOING, SO I JUST WRAPPED THE HANDLE FOR NOW THIS WINTER ILL BREAK DOWN AND ACTUALLY WORK ON THEM, ITS FISHING SEASON AND IVE ALREADY MISSED TOO MUCH


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