Cork grips shellac - clear vs. amber

[René Sterental]

I need to shellac the cork grips I'm using in th Hubbuhubbuh. First time using them. Will they look nicer and match the B-67 Select saddles better with clear or with amber shellac?

Any suggestions and/or photos?

René 

[Philip Kim]

Amber is nice

https://flic.kr/p/TEaJ6E

[Allingham II, Thomas J. (Retired Partner)]

Amber. And steel wool between coats. Beautiful durable matte finish. I'll try to find a pic of my Wilbury -- they're beautiful.

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 9, 2017, at 8:56 PM, Philip Kim <phili...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Amber is nice
>
> https://flic.kr/p/TEaJ6E
>
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[drew]

I think it depends on the age of the select. Those get dark pretty quick. I like clear on cork, but it will be less matchy to a honey colored brooks.

[René Sterental]

Many thanks for the quick replies!

I think I'll go with amber, as Philip's photo shows. I agree that the Selects will darken fairly quickly, and will follow the (unknown to me) advice of the steel wool between coats.

René 

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 5:59 PM drew <drewbe...@gmail.com> wrote:

I think it depends on the age of the select. Those get dark pretty quick. I like clear on cork, but it will be less matchy to a honey colored brooks.

[Ray Varella]

Just another data point.
I have several sets of those grips. Two sets were done with amber and one with clear.
I can't see a bit of difference between them.

Ray
Vallejo CA

[Ron Mc]

Varnish is better for cork grips - it's flexible and will never exfoliate - 6-7 thin coats

Shellac is for twine wraps - 2 coats

[Jon Dukeman,central Colorado]

I agree with RonMc..

Spar varnish is better than shellac on cork. This is clear,gloss, 5 coats, I didn't sand in between coats.Available in semigloss and amber.

Jon

[Philip Kim]

I used about 4 or 5 coats, the more coats the darker it gets

[René Sterental]

Wow, I'd never heard of it. Can you explain a bit more why it's better and what the flexibility you describe means?

René 

[REC]

If grips were already shellacked (and now needs new layer), can one apply varnish over it, or best to stick with shellac? 

Roberta

On Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 7:25:44 AM UTC-4, Ron Mc wrote:

Varnish is better for cork grips - it's flexible and will never exfoliate - 6-7 thin coats

[Philip Kim]

i've used varnish for finishing decks and used shellac for finishing cabinets. i've never used varnish on cork, always used shellac. everything of cork i've shellacked, have always lived inside, including my bike.

varnish cures as it dries. when you apply a new layer of varnish, it will not bind to the underlying layer of varnish. it has much better sunlight and water protection. a lot of modern varnishes also include polyurethane, linseed oil, and mineral spirits. because of the oils, it takes some time to dry before putting on a second coat.

for shellac, new layers will bind with the underlying layer of shellac. easier to apply in thin coats. if a layer wears down, you can easily apply a new coat and it will look uniform. its also nontoxic. i would bet that riv uses shellac for those reasons.

varnish is not really necessary as your bike won't live outside 24/7.

[Philip Kim]

roberta see post above. i would just reapply shellac, it's much easier. 

[Julian Westerhout]

I'm wondering how shellacked or varnished cork grips are to ride with over time, in the rain, etc. I have untreated cork grips on my commuter -- they've discolored with age, but are comfortable, absorb sweat in the summer, are still grippy in the rain. 

I like the coated look (and will also be putting cork grips on our HHH, which is now in the tender care of FedEx, somewhere between Walnut Creek and IL -- scheduled for delivery next Monday), but am curious if those who've done so have longterm, multi-wather reports to share. 

Thanks, 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[jinxed]

I'll jump on the Ron and Jon train and concur with the spar varnish. I used shellac on a pair a while ago and never liked the constantly sticky feel. I heard about the spar varnish tip here and tried that on another pair. VERY much improved the feel for me. I will admit the amber gives a nice look, especially when running a honey saddle. However the clear spar looks great with the natural Cambium if I want to get my matchy matchy on.

[Ron Mc]

spar varnish is harder to keep, because it cures by exposure to oxygen.  To keep it around you need canned inert gas like Bloxygen to blow over the top.  

But it is flexible.  It's what they coat bamboo fly rods with, and think about how a bamboo fly rod flexes.  

It's like an oil, very low viscosity, and the first 4 or so coats are absorbed by the cork.  You want a couple of bright coats over the absorbed layers.  

If you squeeze the cork, it doesn't separate - it's not a hard shell, it becomes a very viscous oil.  

Coated cork will become slick if you're wearing soggy leather gloves.  

[René Sterental]

Hmmm... now in a conundrum... which should I use?

Don't like the idea of the varnish getting slick (and sticky or running off?) with soggy leather gloves as when riding in the heat or rain (no plans for that now), wondering how sticky or slippery shellac may get on the same conditions, but then again, RBW has countless uses and its what they use again and again...

Perhaps it's just "safer" to go with shellac, especially since the captain grips will get twined to hold the cable for the barend shifters.

Any last minute strong recommendations? Those like RonMc who suggest using the varnish, did you first use shellac and found it lacking?

René

[Steve Palincsar]

Spar varnish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spar varnish is a wood finishing varnish.

Spar varnish was originally developed for coating the spars of sailing ships. These formed part of the masts and rigging, so suffered a hard life in service. They were flexed by the wind loads they supported, attacked by sea and bad weather, and also suffered from UV degradation from long-term exposure to sunlight.

The most important condition for such varnishes to resist was the mechanical flexing. This required a varnish that was flexible and elastic. Without elasticity, the varnish would soon crack, allowing water to penetrate to the wood beneath. At the time, varnish production was rudimentary and had only simple materials with which to work. It pre-dated the development of modern polymer chemistry. Spar varnish was a 'short oil' varnish, where a small proportion of a finishing oil, universally boiled linseed oil, was added to a majority proportion of varnish (see Danish oil for a 'long oil' finish).^[1] This gave flexibility,^[2] even though its weather resistance was still poor and relatively frequent re-coating was required.

In modern times, 'spar varnish' has become a genericised term for any outdoor varnish. Owing to modern varnish materials, their weather resistance is likely to be good, but the original requirement for flexibility has largely been forgotten.

[Chris Birkenmaier]

I leave mine in the raw. Hey Rene did you get my PM?

[Ron Mc]

no Rene, Spar varnish won't get soft and run and it won't be any slicker than shellac - but it will be more flexible and will never peel off

[René Sterental]

Thanks Ron! I'm now leaning to try it. We'll see. 

[Ryan Fleming]

Mine aren't shellaced  or varnished

I suppose varnish or shellac might add a layer of protection..not a bad thing, but do people do this because it looks neat or do they do it because it's necessary?

[Ray Varella]

I did it for vanity Ryan.
I've used the cork grips in their raw state and they end up looking dirty.

They probably function better with no coating since the cork maintains it's nice dry texture.

I'm sure very few, if any, fishermen shellacked the cork handles on their fishing rods.

Ray
Vallejo CA

[René Sterental]

Actually, I found a large number of threads regarding using a product called U40 (I think) to seal and restore cork in fishing rods and Birkenstock sandals. 

René 

[Ryan Fleming]

Huh....learn something new every day. 

http://www.mudhole.com/U-40-Cork-Seal-2-oz- 

Thanks, gentlemen...probably Ron Mc who's a keen fisherman probably  knows about this stuff...

[Chris Birkenmaier]

For the record my untreated ones are dirty but surprisingly doesn't bug me being so.

[Ray Varella]

Rene,
That may be the best option yet.
Who knew.

Ray

[René Sterental]

Yes, seriously considering all three now. Hmmmmm...

[Bill Lindsay]

Good thing your tandem has four grips.  You could pick another coating option for that one and do some real science.  

[René Sterental]

Well, I decided to test the waters for the group and just placed an order for the U-40. It would be great if it preserved the feel of the cork but made it very easy to clean. We'll soon find out. 

René 

[Ron Mc]

yes, I use a lot of rod bond products - if you need a flexible epoxy (plugging holes in plastic fenders) theirs is definitely the best.  

Fly rod builders use U40 to seal their cork.  

While I knew of the product, I am still happy with spar varnish results on two bikes with cork grips.  

Is it worth a try if you don't want to mess use either varnish or shellac - definitely.  

On Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 2:55:35 PM UTC-5, Chris Birkenmaier wrote:

For the record my untreated ones are dirty but surprisingly doesn't bug me being so.

On Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 3:41:50 PM UTC-4, Ryan Fleming wrote:

Huh....learn something new every day. 

http://www.mudhole.com/U-40-Cork-Seal-2-oz- 

Thanks, gentlemen...probably Ron Mc who's a keen fisherman probably  knows about this stuff...

...

[Clayton.sf]

I thought this thread was almost silly when it first started, but I am learning a lot more than expected! Thanks!

Clayton Scott
SF, CA

[René Sterental]

So did I when I started it! Who knew?

[Jon Dukeman]

I have spar varnish (gloss) on my cork grips. One ride I forgot my gloves and thought my hands would be slipping off the grips when my hands  started sweating.

No so... Gripped like glue.

On May 11, 2017 3:55 PM, "René Sterental" <orth...@gmail.com> wrote:

So did I when I started it! Who knew?

On Thu, May 11, 2017 at 2:49 PM Clayton.sf <clayt...@gmail.com> wrote:

I thought this thread was almost silly when it first started, but I am learning a lot more than expected! Thanks!

Clayton Scott
SF, CA

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[Marc Nolte]

Agreed. I've done a few bikes worth. 

Did shellac on grips once, now use spar varnish (polyurethane). 

Marc

Calgary, Alberta

On May 10, 2017, at 5:25 AM, Ron Mc <bulld...@gmail.com> wrote:

Varnish is better for cork grips - it's flexible and will never exfoliate - 6-7 thin coats

Shellac is for twine wraps - 2 coats

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[René Sterental]

Dumb (probably) question, but if after applying the U-40 sealant I don't like it or there's some other issue, can I apply the spar varnish on top of it?

René 

On Thu, May 11, 2017 at 3:13 PM Jon Dukeman <row.n.2...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have spar varnish (gloss) on my cork grips. One ride I forgot my gloves and thought my hands would be slipping off the grips when my hands  started sweating.

No so... Gripped like glue.

On May 11, 2017 3:55 PM, "René Sterental" <orth...@gmail.com> wrote:

So did I when I started it! Who knew?

On Thu, May 11, 2017 at 2:49 PM Clayton.sf <clayt...@gmail.com> wrote:

I thought this thread was almost silly when it first started, but I am learning a lot more than expected! Thanks!

Clayton Scott
SF, CA

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[Ron Mc]

absolutely friend - it will soak right through.  

The U40 sealant won't build up a glaze.  

[René Sterental]

Excellent!

[Joel Stern]

Would you recommend shallac before putting grips on the bars? 

[Jon Dukeman]

For cork I prefer Spar Varnish. Save shellac for cloth bar tape and twine

Jon

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[Joel Stern]

Thanks On, did you wrap over the cork? 

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[kim young]

I’ve used these. They save my wrists on long rides. 

Not sure how much cork they have in them, because they are kind of rubbery-but they don’t dry out.

Asti Natural cork foam grips

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CX4Z4X1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.EFaFbFA96DK1

kim in az 

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[Jon Dukeman]

No cork is mid bar. I put road bike tape under cloth tape for extra padding then clear shellac over cloth tape and twine..

About 3 coats. Hope that helps

Jon

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[Joel Stern]

Thanks Kim. 

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[Joel Stern]

Jon, I’ve heard some people use pieces of old tubes under bar cloth.  Don’t know what road bike tape is. 

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[Joel Stern]

Thanks Mike.  

On Sun, Jul 5, 2020 at 11:31 PM Mike Packard <mrg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Well I just posted on the other cork thread but it was suddenly deleted, so...

I've found the RBW cork grips to be more durable than than they seem without shellac. For the cork-curious the Velo Orange ones are really nice too https://velo-orange.com/collections/grips-wraps  . The black ones are quite soft compared to the others natural cork and RBW type.

I like to mount them backwards which creates a nice ridge that feels good on the hand. Pic attached.

Mike

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