I seem to remember a discussion in a chat or a thread on the BB about what to use on fly rod cork grips to get them new looking again. Anyone else remember that? What was the concensus?
Bob
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I seem to remember a discussion in a chat or a thread on the BB about what to use on fly rod cork grips to get them new looking again. Anyone else remember that? What was the concensus?
Bob
I like 'Soft-Scrub'. :)
As I recall, one of the suggestions was a waterless hand cleaner like DL or GOOP.
My grandfather's old SB 359-9 still has fish scales on the cork from the last he used it, back sometime in the mid '60s
I aim on keeping it that way
Another vote for Soft Scrub.
Clean cork is the sign of a very sick mind :D
Most of my rods have some serious mojo going with the cork grips.
(all except my new Winston which will have an accumulation of mojo before the end of summer for darn sure).
Jeff
I use Natures Automatic Cork Cleaner. I go fishing for a day in the Rain. Works well. Jax
If it's only "Mojo Dirt", leave it, or you'll go fishless for 71 and a half days.
If it's "Bothers You Dirt", then use a "Micro-Fiber" cloth and plain water.
When you end up with poison ivy on your hands like I have now and are unsure if you got some of the plant oil on your rod grip; you may rethink mojo.
I use warm water, a sponge and a mix of Dawn and Bon Ami cleanser.
Murphy's Oil Soap and water, an old wash cloth and plenty of clean rinse water. Used it twice for some real bad non mojo stuff. MOST OF ALL you do not want to dry out the Cork and make it brittle avoid harsh chemicals.
Thanks all. You are right JC. It was soft scrub I remember in the conversation. My magic Mojo is turning green and I think there are creatures living in it. It's got to go. I'll build up a new brown layer. And going fishless is my natural state.
Bob
New product on the market - Wonder Cloth. It cleans grips, and in smaller sizes(wonder fly dryer) is great for those CDC flies before you use you dry shake flotant.
Soft scrub (with Bleach) and a 3M pad.
I use warm water, dishwashing soap, and a scrubby sponge. Worked fine so far.
PS The Mojo only applies to lucky hats and fishing vests, neither of which should be washed. I have had to kill eleven hats so far.
Diluted clorox bleach is as quick and simple as it gets.
I've heard of people using those eraser cleaning products, I forget who makes them.
Raw is correct. I've been advised by my bamboo rod guy that the Mr.Clean Magic Eraser is good for cleaning the cock grips. Wet it well to prevent ridging.
Tom
I use the soft scrub, too. Just one note that I'm sure also applies to the magic eraser - be sure not to scrub the reel seat with it or you'll get a bunch of scratches on it and ruin it.
Thanks guys!!!
As for the mojo...
The thing is I feel the cork is getting slippery hence affecting my casting. Other wise I'd leave it just like it is. All battle scars attract chicks!
Not even spell-check would have caught this one! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by TomTrout
THAT is funny! ROTFLMAO!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg HNot even spell-check would have caught this one! :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by TomTrout
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/rotflmao.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/rotflmao.gifhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...s/rotflmao.gif
It makes cork newQuote:
Originally Posted by J Castwell
I use my hands (rough metalworker's hands) dish soap, baking soda, and warm water.
Gentle scrubbing makes everything new again. Only on "non - mojo" dirt, of course.
I sometimes apply cork conditioner to grips, but it does change the feel of the cork.
My main, and favorite rod has four season's worth of mojo, and I like it... but, if I get poison oak, she gets a scrubbing from butt to tip, and I go for new mojo...
I haven't had the oak for four years....................................ModocDan
.........for the record..."the oak" is way bad :( ........'case ya never had it..
I feel sorry for you Dan, I have never had the Oak but most of my friends growing up had it. I at one time working on an eagle scout project stood in the middle of a patch of the stuff and cut down a tree, didn't get it but everyone else did.
I won't say I don't get it because as soon as you say something that stupid then it attacks.
My grandmother was so sensitive that if she drove along a road where they were burning slash and there was some poison oak in the fire she would get it from the smoke.
I don't blame you for washing the bad mojo off, its nothing to mess around with.
Eric
Wet your hand and sprinkle a small amount of Cascade dishwashing detergent and rub it on the grip with your hand---Cheap easy and fast and your hand gets clean too.
I just cleaned my first cork grip ever on a rod tonight after reading the various posts; the cork had become slippery smooth and dark gray due to 3 decades of "mojo" collecting.
At first, I tried to hand clean it with warm water and a bar of Ivory soap, but the grime over the years was pretty thick. Using a toothbrush did the trick to wash off the caked on sweat, tears, and fish slime. I massaged in a thin layer of hand cream afterwards as well.
Not only does the cork grip look new (as well as the cork reel seat), so does the rod; kinda like putting new tires on your older car. :D
Even though I have been cleaning my cork for years with a sponge, Dawn and some Bon Ami, I have been rethinking the use of detergent on all things natural. Detergent is nasty stuff no matter how many times "Madge the Manicurist" tricked someone into soaking their hands in Palmolive.
Allow me to digress...
After many many years of scrubbing my leather wading shoes clean after each fishing trip, it appears to me that the use of detergent accelerates the drying and cracking of the leather. As a result, in the last year or so I limit the use of detergent to the non-leather portions of the shoes and I use saddle soap on the leather areas.
I'll let you know how it turns out in a few years...:)
That being said, I've had the same thoughts about my cork grips. I wonder if the use of detergents will accelerate the drying out of the cork? For that reason the next time I clean a grip, I plan to use plain soap like Ivory or try the saddle soap. I have to believe that frequent cleaning with detergent can't be a good thing for a natural product like cork but then again, I'm no "corkologist". :rolleyes:
Another suggestion, skip the aggressive cleaning with Scotch Brite pads, scrub or tooth brushes and stick to something soft like a sponge. The risk of chipping the cork or knocking out filler is much higher when you use stuff like that. Your results will be a lot better if you clean more frequently like once a year with milder options and I have to believe it's better for the cork.
Another thing to avoid is the use of solvents like alcohol. I used Isopropyl on a few grips on way back when and even though it worked great, I know for fact that it made those grips develop ridges a lot faster than they would have normally.
Something to think about for those that deny the existence of Mojo.
Bob,
I've used Formula 409 on some of my canes. Works great. Only an occasional cleaning though...like every 5-6 yrs. is needed to freshen.
Just a spot on a moistened T-shirt and some rubbing makes the cork come back. No ridging!!
I prefer to stay away from anything w/abrasives added.
Jeremy.
I use a Pins & Fins Wonder Cloth to clean my rod handles as well as my other gear. I seem to recall seeing something here or on another site about them and picked one up when I saw them at an Orivs store in my area. Simply wet the cloth and wipe down the handle. Does a brilliant job and doesn't damage the cork.
It seems to be a slightly rough microfiber cloth and supposedly can be washed hundreds of times (I haven't washed mine yet). I think I paid less than $5 for the "original" size (about 2' a side square), and still have lots of unused surface. You can also use it to clean lines, reels, etc. I've used mine to clean lines and can attest that it does an excellent job and doesn't seem to affect the floatability of the line or cause any damage to the coating.
http://www.pinsandfins.com/products/?id=7
Brian
I cleaned my first cork grip every last night with a tooth brush, warm water, and Ivory bar soap.
It took away 30 years of grime and made the cork grip (and cork reel seat) like new. :D
I followed another forum member's advice and rubbed in some hand cream afterwards.
I use warm water with Baking Soda mixed into it and scrub with a toothbrush. Works great and doesn't harm the cork or leave a residue.
There's a number of good ways to clean it though and that's just one of them.
Fish slime mixed with dirt. The dirt keeps the cork from getting too slippery.
that's my favorite way to do it...plus, the dirt helps lock in all that mojo.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeoCreek