For a Game head Cape.........
(1). Turn/Split lips, nose, eyes and turn the ears inside out.............
(2). Remove all Thick meat.
(3). For a faster tan take the thickness off around the eyes,Bottom lip and Nose...........If you are very slow at this process then skip and go to the next step. Or if the cape has a bad odor and is an "Iffy" cape go to the next step.
(4). Rinse all the blood out(Cold water,No soap)............I first give a quick rinse with the skin side out and then turn the cape hair side out (including ears) and rinse thoroughly.
At this point you will know if the cape is good or not. if it is not already slipping then it will not slip...........You will not work hours and hours shaving your cape only to loose it later.......If you see allot of hairs floating in the water then inspect the cape to see if it is mountable or not.........It can still be saved depending on the slippage and where it is but no further slippage will occur.
(5). Hang the cape to drip dry for approx. 15 min. This is a good time to mix up your Krowtan.
(6). If you do allot of capes, you can pre measure in a 5 Gal. bucket. Take the bucket and measure 64 oz of salt and mark the level line with a permanent ink pin inside the bucket.Then add 2 1/2 Gals of water and do the same.This way the next batch will be faster.
You will get enough salt density with out adding hot water, even if it doesn't dilute 100%.I always Mix for two capes even if I'm only do one(this insures a good sub merge) Use it and do a second cape later without adding more tan.
(7). Wear Gloves! Place the cape in to the Mixed Krowtan (5 Gallons of Water,128 Oz. of salt and 16 Oz. of Krowtan) with the hair side out and DIP it up and down.This is an important step! Be sure to saturate the Hair side with the chemical.Slippage can still occur if this is not done especially on Long haired capes during hot months. Turn The cape inside out (including ears) and once again dip it up and down into the KT...........No need to Put a weight on your cape to hold it down (this is a waste of time) Just turn the cape back over its self with the hair side up holding the skin under the KT.
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.For the next 3 days............Pick the capes up and dip them again making sure there are no folds preventing the solution from getting to the cape........
(9).After 3 or 4 days. Leave it in the KT as long as you wish with out any worries about it going bad..........
(10). Directions tell you to Neutralize the cape first and then Shave it.............It's makes the shaving easier but for thick skins you will not get as nice of a stretch for mounting...........In that case you can put it back in the Neutralizer for a short time..........and then continue.
I like to Shave My capes before I neutralize because it saves time..........but the cape is stiff and it is easier to cut a hole.........
(11) Neutralize..........I still use 6oz in 2 Gals of water for a 20 minute soak............A wind up Timer can help you remember when the time is up.........
While the cape is still in the Neutralizer after 20 minutes I then turn it Hairside out and dip it a few time to kill the acid on the hair side..........
(12). I then Pour the Neutralizer down the drain and wash the cape with the hair side out. I use Dawn Dish Washing soap...........The Dawn relaxes the cape even more.........Rinse the cape and hang to drip dry..........Or towel dry.......
(13). At this point ............You can mount or brush a coat of soft tan oil on the skin side for better results..........and then mount or sweat in the Frig roled up with the hair side out........
Hope this helps............
I may modify along the way in case I left something out............
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