maintaining a decoy's integrity (re: water intrusion)

Justin, dry them out for awhile and then seal the bottom with truck bedliner spray. It's rubberized, dries nice and helps hold the bottom cork together. It is durable and paintable. One $8 can from the Walmart automotive section will do about 8 birds. dc
 
Terry, Tod, 15 years of using Thompson's Water Sealer on brown cork with no paint sluffing problems has made a believer out of me as to how well oil based paints (which is all I use) sticks to cork treated by Thompson's. Mind you, you have to give it 48 hours to fully dry, but once its dry, the paint sticks.

I have a couple of cork decoys I painted back in '95 that are still holding their original paint. I also have a couple I carved and painted before I started using Thompson's that I've had to retire 'cause in 4 or 5 hours they soak up so much water they appear to be sinking.

Back when I used a lot of basswood, I sealed them with Thompson's also. I'd go so far as to say the basswood I had, wicked water worse than the cork I used back then. None of those decoys ever shed their paint.

Before you go telling somebody whose been doing something a long time that it won't work, you ought to try it.

John Bourbon
 
Mike, the only photo I have at the time with the bottom "rhino lined" is on my website at churchdecoys.com under "Carving Cork Decoys". Hope that helps, let me know if you need additional pics and I will take some more tonight and send them to you. This is all I ever use, no bottom boartds required, saves on the weight and the upkeep. dc
 
Terry, Tod, 15 years of using Thompson's Water Sealer on brown cork with no paint sluffing problems has made a believer out of me as to how well oil based paints (which is all I use) sticks to cork treated by Thompson's. Mind you, you have to give it 48 hours to fully dry, but once its dry, the paint sticks.

I have a couple of cork decoys I painted back in '95 that are still holding their original paint. I also have a couple I carved and painted before I started using Thompson's that I've had to retire 'cause in 4 or 5 hours they soak up so much water they appear to be sinking.

Back when I used a lot of basswood, I sealed them with Thompson's also. I'd go so far as to say the basswood I had, wicked water worse than the cork I used back then. None of those decoys ever shed their paint.

Before you go telling somebody whose been doing something a long time that it won't work, you ought to try it.

John Bourbon
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Thompson's water seal is wax mixed with mineral spirits and is mostly water. If you want to use it, go for it, but I don't want someone else thinking it is something it isn't.

T
 
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