I too am a fan of cork. I get most of my corks in craft or hobby stores. I try to pick the ones with the fewest pits. I have had good luck with smooth finishes using artist's white gesso, 1-2 coats. It dries very thin and light and fills in most of the holes. Then 1 coat of water based color and a tin top coat. They most always float fairly high. I also stopped using kink shanks. I use just plain old aberdeen hooks from wal-mart. I use zap a gap and have never had a popper head come loose. I'm rough too, I tend to remove the hook by holding the popper head. I do tend to cut a thin slot and the hook fits snuggly into the cork to begin with. I must admit though, that recently I have been doing more balsa than anything.