Herr Dr. Weber's Medicinal Cork Filler

by Doug Weber

Here is a cork filler that works for me. Try it for yourself and decide.

The Materials

• You need a small glass jar about 1 oz in size or a small baby food jar to hold the cork filler.
• Collect the cork fines from a couple of handle projects. Sieve the large chunks out by rubbing the dust through a section of nylon stocking.
• You will also need Duco cement, acetone, lacquer thinner, and a little bit of paint or pigment to lighten the color of the cork.
• For the final step in finishing the application of filler, you need a smooth rag, some rubber gloves, and some lacquer thinner.

Make The Filler

1. Fill the glass container about 1/4 full of cork dust and add Duco cement to wet it. Add some acetone and mix well.
2. Add a little dab—very small as it goes a long way—of color to lighten the darkened cork filler. Mix well.
3. Add additional cork dust, cement, and acetone as needed to fill the bottle about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Mix well.
4. Test the color and consistency by filling some holes in a poor cork ring. The mix should be sticky and adhere well, as well as closely match the cork color.
5. Store the cork filler tightly closed.

Apply The Filler

1. First clean the cork imperfection(s) with a small pick.
2. Press the filler mixture into a hole leaving a shallow mound.
3. When you have finished applying filler to all the grip's imperfections, let it sit for about an hour.
4. To clean off the excess filler, you need a smooth rag, some rubber gloves, and some lacquer thinner. Do this outside! Put on the gloves, moisten the rag with lacquer thinner, and rub over each filled spot. The solvent will carry away the excess filler. Go slowly and check your work. It is easy to pull out too much of the filler. When done, give a carefull final wipe and let set to dry.

The cork filler should last indefinitely. If it gets too stiff, add some acetone and a little lacquer thinner. Store tightly closed!

An alternative is to use "Barge" cement. It is a rubber-based adhesive used in industry. The process is the same, but you will use both acetone and lacquer thinner as solvents.

Points To Ponder

These solvents are quite toxic. It only takes a few cc's (~ 20 or so) to evaporate into a small room to bring the vapor concentration to the point that it begins to cause you harm. It is best to work with these outside while wearing disposable rubber gloves. It keeps the liquid off your hands so that it will not defat the skin nor be adsorbed through it. Also, if you smoke, you will do it only once while working with this stuff. These solvents are very flammable. Keep them away from any source of ignition.