You cork carvers out there, what do you use to seal your decoys with? I am trying to find the traditions cork sealer but it seems to be out of stock everywhere I look. Any help for a rookie is greatly appreciated.

Spar varnish is used.

GAC 100, matte acrylic floor sealer. A couple coats will serve you well, as any unsealed spaces may cause wicking of water into the body.
GAC100 is an acrylic sealer from Golden Acrylic paints--May be available via
theitalianartstore.com
george@runamuckdecoys.com

Are they still open, George?

 I put two coats of Traditions sealer on a couple of anchor line floats that I mount near the tie ends on my layout boat anchors this spring, prior painting them black After drying them in full sunlight for several days, they were rained-on. I was surprised to find that the traditions coats had loosened and become very gummy and the water had penetrated in a couple of spots. I have never had this happen with spar varnish, as well as when I still used Valspar's now "extinct"
sealer.

Amazon has GAC100 gallons for $72 - free shipping

I do not think that any of the acrylic products are designed for 24/7 immersion. When I seal with gac, I do two or three coats, then do a base of carbon black before painting. If your intent is 24/7 I would suggest some sort of marine varnish.
george@runamuckdecoys.com

Good morning, Bo~


I use Spar Varnish. I do not get expensive marine varnishes - but I don't get polyurethanes, either. My local hardware stores have it for ~ $18 per quart. I prefer Satin over Gloss - a bit easier to scuff sand before priming (usually with a Rustoleum flat oil paint).


I use a chip brush to lay on a soaking coat, then hang the decoys to cure - for a least a full day if good drying conditions.


Hope this helps,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

For black cork, a penetrating epoxy is an excellent choice as a sealer, too, but not a inexpensive approach I am working on some retro head black cork goose floaters right now that will eat-up the last of some Jamestown Distributors penetrating epoxy I had left over from repairing a rotten wood core in a gunnel panel on my Outrage 21'.

Rick~


Interesting coincidence. I just picked up 2 quarts of Satin Spar Varnish from my local ace hardware. I had ordered it just to have on hand. As I was leaving, the Ass't Mgr advised me that most of their products with traditional oils - e.g., spar varnish, Minwax oil stains, etc., will be unavailable to them as of January 1. (Probably NYS rule to reduce VOCs)



So, on the drive home, I pondered the option of epoxy as a cork sealer. The $71 I pay US Composites for their gallon-and-a-half resin + hardener kit (635 Thin Resin) is less than I pay for Spar Varnish. I buy the quarts simply because I open and close the cans so often that gallons are impractical.


One more Big Decision to make going forward.....


All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com

Steve, does that price include shipping? I used US Composites epoxy when I was refurbishing the TDB-17 about five years ago. From what I recall their shipping was quite expensive.

Good morning, Rick~


No - that price does not include shipping. It's straight UPS - and modest I believe. Given that I do not live in boat country, I have to buy most of my arcane materials and supplies via the mail. When I cannot get free shipping, I always stock up on supplies to spread the shipping charges over several items.


All the best,


SJS

Steven Jay Sanford
Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY
http://www.stevenjaysanford.com