Cork Decoy Repaints

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

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Looking for some advice on repainting some cork gunners. I have a mix of yard sale and gifted gunning decoys that include a set of 4 blacks from one maker; one LL Bean black, one black from another maker with a radically different paint scheme, and 4 LL Bean whistlers that were repainted with rustoleum before I got them.

The 4 matching blacks see heavy use and need to be repainted. At the same time, I'd like to paint the Bean and other black to match them. The Bean decoy is really crappy cork that I'd like to fill to smooth it out and then reseal the cork. I've been given a box that includes some cork sealer and Traditions acrylic paint in black duck colors (white, black, yellow, burnt and raw umber, burnt and raw sienna). I know the set of 4 blacks were originally painted with acrylics; not sure whether the Bean or the other are oil or acrylic.

Questions:
(1) Can I fill the voids in the Beans black with epoxy and wood flour, sawdust, or some other filler? Do I need to sand through the existing paint before I do this?
(2) Can I paint acrylic paint over oil, if that's what's on my odd ball black? If not, is there a primer I can use between the oil and acrylic, or do I need to sand down to the cork and reseal?
(3) One I use the cork sealer, do I need to prime, or can I paint right over the sealer?

On the whistlers, the rustoleum paint job seems to have held up well on the cork, but the tail boards are all flaking off. Can I seal the wood tailboards with the cork sealer? Or I should I use an oil based primer?
 
Jeff~

I have no experience with cork sealer so cannot help you with those questions.

I will be restoring some Beans Black Duck soon and plan to: 1) seal them with a very liberal coat of oil-based spar varnish. I do not plan to fill the voids because a) I have done it before and it adds a lot of weight and b) I like the depth they give to the body - a tough effect to achieve with just paint on a smooth bird. I will sand the varnish very lightly with 100 grit then paint the whole bird with latex house paint.

Without seeing your Whistlers, I wonder if the spar varnish could seal the tails. Marine epoxy is great for such a job. I always have some in the shop so it's what I would use.

Rustoleum is a very good paint and can certainly work as a topcoat if you prefer oils.

General Rule: Acrylic/latex is fine over oils. Oils are OK over really old, weathered latex but not over fresh.

Hope this helps!

SJS
 
Very helpful, Steve.

I thought about spar varnish as sealer, but I'd go through a ton of it. I agree with you about the texture on the older Bean's corks, but this one is fairly recent and the cork was just awful. Looks sort of like a popcorn ball.

Input from anyone who has used cork sealer--especially whether I need to prime over the sealer before acrylic or oil paint--would be welcome.
 
I redid a couple of rough cork divers a couple of years ago. I reshaped the bodies a little and sanded down the old paint in the areas that still had it. I added a bottom board to them and reattached the original Herter's heads. I then filled the voids with putty and sealed the decoys with shellac. I'm not sure if shellac is a preferred sealer, but I've used it on a few pine and cork birds so far with no ill effects. (I'd like to hear any other opinions on shellac as a sealer.) I then painted them with exterior latex. Finally I sprayed them with a matte clear coat and installed a new keel.

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I've never bothered to re-prime/seal used cork decoys. For new cork I've used spar varnish thinned 50%.
I've gone over to mostly light weight decoys but when I do touch up cork decoys I mix flat rustoleum paints.
 
Spent some time sanding tonight.

The GE's just need paint. Their tailboards (plywood) were pretty rough, so I put two layers of epoxy on the tail boards after sanding. Other than that, all they need is paint. Ditto for my solo black duck.

My set of four beat up blacks is a different story. These have shaped cork tails, not tail boards, and they are down to bare unsealed cork on the tails, with some exposed cork all over after sanding. I think I'll reseal these with Traditions cork sealer before I repaint.

I used some thickened epoxy to fill in the the worst of the voids in the LL Bean cork black. Still considering whether to reseal that, or just sand and paint.
 
I have sealed up old LL Bean Decoys with West System 2-part epoxy and had great results. If the cork is in decent condition, I seal them with a couple coats of Valspar "Val-Oil" Sealer.

Tim
 
Jeff, I have been using Elmers Wood Filler (interior/exterior)for years. It adds very little weight, yet is flexible with the cork and does not crack like Plastic Wood and some other fillers.

I only fill large deep cracks on the body (the texture is one of corks big advantages), but stabilize most holes below the waterline. It never hurts to add spar varnish to seal the cork and you can apply a flat varnish over the top of paint to seal again.
 
Mike,
Is that the water soluble (latex) stuff? I had some of the latex re soften when water got into some old decoys is why I ask.
 
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