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I wanted to share this as I have never seen it posted before.

I prepped a rod section for dipping early this morning that had a plastic shrink wrap covering the cork for protection.  I had carefully covered the open end of the shrink wrap near the rod end of the grip with masking tape to keep out any finish as I dipped.  I left about 1/16" of the cork exposed above the winding check so the finish would make a good seal between it and the cork.

I dipped the rod and submerged the grip about 1/16" of an inch over the masking tape.  I have done this before with grips that weren't covered in shrink wrap and haven't had any problems.

Well, as it turns out, when I removed the rod from the initial drying cabinet, the finish had wicked its way up into the shrink wrap and soaked nearly 1" of the grip for nearly.  I thought it was an illusion at first, but after removing the shrink wrap to check, sure enough, it was damp with finish.  I'm just hoping I can sand the finish away after it has cured.

Any comforts, or at least condolences?  (Chris Carlin)

Ouch.  I had that happen once too.  Fortunately, I saw the problem immediately, removed the shrink wrap and cleaned the grip with thinner.  Now I don't put on the shrink wrap until AFTER the rod is varnished.  (Robert Cristant)

I have done the same thing but I caught it quick too and removed the shrink wrap and cleaned cork with alcohol.   I hope you can sand it out.  (Dave Henney)

At one time it was popular to dip the first inch or two of the cork.  (David Ray)

Well it looks like the finish is going to sand off the cork just fine whew.

Lesson learned:  Shrink wrap after dipping.  :)

Thanks everyone!  It is nice to know I'm not the only one to have this happen.  (Chris Carlin)

Here I thought that I had invented a new way to screw up. Every time I think That I have a new one you guys let me know how unoriginal I am.  (Steve Weiss)

While dipping my third rod I accidentally got some poly on the cork grip. Does anyone out there know how to remove this from the grip? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. (Zac Denton)

This has happened to me a couple of times and I found that letting it cure, and sanding it only burnished the varnish on the grip. Taking a couple of swipes with a rasp got below the surface and back down to the cork. If you don't have a rasp, coarse grit sand paper will work too. Then I chucked it in my lathe and lightly sanded it back to smooth. If you don't have a lathe or access to one, you can do it slowly in your lap, much like Dave Collyer shows how to fit and lap ferrules by hand.  (Scott Bearden)

You may also consider covering the entire grip, let it dry and then sanding it down. this will at least make it consistent.  (Dave Burley)

Honestly, that is the last thing I would want to do because it isn't soaking in to the cork, and coating the whole thing would create unnecessary extra work.  At the most the varnish will get into the pits. I have had to remove varnish from the cork of vintage rods that a previous owner put there. After doing enough of those, I simply refuse to spend the time doing it and now I simply replace the entire grip. Unless there was some ultra premium cork underneath, it is a pain to get rid of all that varnish. It warms up due to the friction and doesn't sand away easily. That is why I recommend a rasp or very rough sandpaper.

Another thing to consider salvaging a grip is putting rattan on it, but I wouldn't do this on a vintage rod of any value.  (Scott Bearden)

If it's not fully cured, soaking with mineral spirits might help. Another solution might be, "paint and varnish remover". Anyway you go, you'll probably need to sand it down some. The less would be better.  (David Dziadosz)