Cork question

Bo Hanson

New member
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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

 
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'.
 
Last edited:
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

 
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

 
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