sealing cork

[Rick L]

i am using spar varnish to seal the cork bodies - i put on what seemed to be a liberal (non-political liberal) coat yesterday and hung them up to dry

they feel porous and dry yet -

so- does one good coat do it - or you add extra coats - if so - how many


thanks

 

[Michael B]

I usually use three coats. The first coat I cut 50/50 with mineral spirits to get it to soak into the cork a little further. I cut the second coat less and the next one less, if at all. You know you're good when you put a coat on and it lingers a while before soaking in, or doesn't soak in at all.

Mike

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

Rick - I SOAK EM GOOD with the first coat. Wait a couple weeks. Then 2 more coats Spar Varnish and let sit at least a month. Then if needed, a Varnish and cork dust slurry and let em sit again. This is for black cork or life vest cork.

I always have lots of projects going so the wait is no problem.

 

[george w]

Sounds as if you are using black cork. Did you bother to fill the voids wiht a slurry of cork dust and some sort of binder, before starting to seal?
The old time method of sealing wis a good coat or two ov val-oil, which, i assume was a product made by Val-Spar. You can also use a couple coats of spar varnish, or an acrylic sealer, such as Golden Acrylic Colors77, aka GAC700, or Traditions cork sealer, or a material called Rhoplex.
Preparation of the material is the thing.
When sealing tan cork, at least two good coats of gac799, spar or another sealer is preferable. You are attempting to keep water from wicking into the minute voids in the matrix.

 

[Rick L]

no

its the high density tan cork from the duck blind - guess i should have mentioned that

 

[Michael B]

Definitely use one or two more coats with the HD cork. It will go from somewhat of a matte finish to a bit glossy as the spar stops absorbing and cures at the surface. Also, you will undoubtedly be putting at least two coats of paint on and that will help.

If you are still unsure, pour a little bit of water on a spot and see what happens. If it soaks into the cork, keep sealing.

 

[Chuck J]

i am using spar varnish to seal the cork bodies - i put on what seemed to be a liberal (non-political liberal) coat yesterday and hung them up to dry

they feel porous and dry yet -

so- does one good coat do it - or you add extra coats - if so - how many


thanks

Rick, you act like being a liberal is a bad thing...sealing decoys is not the time or place to be conservative!

I've sealed many different ways, each has pros and cons, but always more than one coat. I like the thinning method Michael mentions. I usually do one coat thinned and one full strength. I don't like to build up a full sheen on the surface, and any sheen I do build up gets knocked down with some steel wool before the base coat. I like the end result of varnish, but don't care for the mess and stink. Val oil is good too, I had a local source a couple years ago but it dried up. I don't get crazy filling cork, I like the texture, even the BSC.

I've been playing with some water based options, Jansens sealer is good, pricey, but good. I should get some of the GAC700 George mentions and try that but just haven't gotten around to it.

The other method if you want to do one coat, and don't mind oil based, and are doing a bunch of deeks... is put a 50/50 mix in a bucket, enough to submerge the deeks and keep them submerged until the bubbles stop, hang over the bucket for a short period to collect most of the drippage, and hang to dry. Otherwise I don't think anything will give you a good one coat seal.

Chuck

 

[Rick Henderson]

I like epoxy , one coat to seal and one with cork dust for finish texture .

 

[MLBob Furia]

"Two coats of Val-Oil will seal a cotton ball"
-Josef Wooster

That is, provided you stashed enough away when it was still available ..... ;-) ;-) ;-)

View attachment ValO1.jpg
View attachment ValO2.jpg

 

[Rick L]

"Two coats of Val-Oil will seal a cotton ball"
-Josef Wooster

That is, provided you stashed enough away when it was still available ..... ;-) ;-) ;-)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll remember that next time I need floating cotton balls

at a bamboo rod makers gathering last month- a vintage gallon can of val-spar (a bit different i know) went for a goodly amount, their products
had a good reputation

thanks for all the tips - i got a second coat on yesterday - i'll do at least one more

 

[Matt DeFore]

Traditions cork sealer sure is an easy way to do it. I've never had an issue or heard of anyone having issues using it.

 

[sean kane]

I use elmers wood patch to fill the voids in my hd tan cork than 3 coats of spar varnish and never had a problem