auto tanning problems

[m2bowhunter]

I have a question to whom ever can give me an answer i would be grateful.
I have purchased a used auto tanner, which is in great condition. Along with the purchas, I have either Van Dykes or arrow head tanning crystals. I tried my first two whitetail capes with these tanning crystal and a list of instuctions on a how to do this from the previous owner. The capes shrank like washing a wool sweater in the clothes washer. Not only were they shrunk, the capes had absolutely no stretch. I contacted the previous owner of the auto tanner and she had never used the auto tanner for whitetails so , i am out of luck on that. I was wondering if brand new crystals would clear up my problem. I read on people using the auto tanner and loving it! I also, with my only experience at using this auto tanner, had the skin side out, including the ears, while the capes revolved in this solution in the tanner. When I inverted the ears after the first 2 hours of tanning before my shaving, a hair ball was in each ear and the hair came from the ear which had slipped  . Not only did I have a no  stretchy cape, I had ears with bare spots.
Can any one who uses an auto tanner give me some suggestions on there method and to weather or not buy some new tanning crystals (if that is my problem)?

I will tell you how I prepared my cape for tanning.
split lips, eyes, nose, invert ears, remove all flesh.
salt.
after a couple days and when I had time.
Mixed up 1lb of tanning crystals per gal of warm water with 1 ounce of pretan 110
put two capes in tanner and applied 50 psi of air pressure.
set timer for two hours
after two hours, spun out excess in a washing machine, shaved cape and put back into tanner
set tanner for two hours.
removed and spun in washing machine
added tanning oil, to flesh side of cape, folded skin to skin, put in plastic bag and left in fridge over night.
Next day, tumbled in saw dust, for twenty minutes. Removed from tumbler and took a vaccum cleaner to blow out all of the saw dust.
any suggestions?
Please?
thanks Jeff

[MVT]

Hi Jeff,
A couple of things I think you did wrong here. I have been using an auto tanner for years and have always had great success. I tan a lot of bears, deer, sheep, caribou, moose...I use arrowhead crystals or bucktan. Pretty much the same thing. I add a cap full of scour or kemel 4 to the tan to help clean during tanning process. The only hides I tumble to clean after tan are bears, as they are harder to degrease and usually take tumbling to clean them properly.

After fleshing I wash the hide in cool water with dawn dish soap. I wash the hides several times until the water is clear. Then rinse and spin or hang to drain. I do not salt the cape. I either put it in the tanner immediately or I put it back in the freezer. If you salt then you have to rehydrate prior to tanning. In rehydrateing you risk slippage if not done correctly. On deer capes I never take them out and shave after a couple of hours. I just run them over night. I almost never have to put them back in once they are shaved. If you have a small spot that is still not tanned then just set them in the tan again and let them static tan for a couple of hours. If I have a heavy hide such as moose or elk then I will shave them and return them to the tanner.

When you pull the hide out of the tanner you need to wash them immediately in cool water with dawn dish soap then rinse and spin or drain dry. This will neutralize them. Then I shave them and wash them again in dawn or era. No need to tumble as they will be clean and degreased at this point. You always end up with a little hair in the ears but this is just loose hair accumulating in there. I have never had any slippage unless it was a questionable hide to begin with.

After the hide is shaved then I oil around the face to help prevent cracking. If you want to oil and dry then break the hide for a finished tan, that is ok too. I would recommend this only if you are in a very dry climate.

I think the problem of no stretch for you came from not properly hydrating the cape before tanning and then not neutralizing after tanning. Unfortunately the problem with the slippage was probably not a tanning issue but a care issue that either happened in the field or in the shop.

Hope this helps,

[Bucknut]

I don't salt my capes and I also let them run over night with the arrowhead crystals. Drain, shave them thin, oil and let them sit for 8 hours and then either freeze or mount. I always get the same size back or usually bigger.

Bruce

[nickstax]

x2 i have used the auto tanner a long time also. i don't salt my hides either and get good stretch. no problem with slippage.

[insane1]

i do what the instrutions say i never had any problems take all major meat off and put it in dont salt

[m2bowhunter]

Thanks for all of the information. I used the receipe that was in the auto tanner book and followed the instructions to a tee. This is my very first experience with the auto tanner. Does anyone know the shelf life of the tanning crystals? I read where pot ash was in with the alumasulphate ( alum) for the purpose of a time release neutralizer. I was wondering if the pot ash was old and didn't neutralize my tanning solution which caused me to have shrunken capes with no stretch. The instructions of the auto tanner say I can use salted capes. The only reason I salted the cape was because I didn't want to refreeze the cape after splitting and fleshing. I do this part time and I try to fit everything into a tight schedule.
Thanks Jeff
 

[MVT]

don't depend on the pot ash. wash them in cool water and dawn immediately after you take them out. This will neutralize them. You are correct the instructions do say you can salt, but you need to make sure you hydrate and wash the hide completely before putting it in the tan. I have tanned salt dried hides and they never seem to have quite the stretch. I too do most of my work on weekends, but you can put the hide in directly after fleshing and take it out the next evening. It will not hurt it to leave it in the tan for a few days. I have left hides in the tan for 3 or 4 days under pressure with no ill affect. If the tan is not exposed to moisture and clumping, then age should not be a problem. Keep the tan in a sealed tight container.

[m2bowhunter]

So  wadem, you keep the capes in the tanner over night . Then you shave them then oil.
Do you leave the oil on over night and sweat it in a bag?


Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine

[Bucknut]

Part timer here too. I put them in there at night and let it run until I get home from work the next day. Drain, shave, oil and let it sit at room temp for 7-8 hours and then mount or freeze.

[MVT]

Yes, M2bowhunter...After I shave them and wash and rinse them, I will oil them, put them in a bag skin to skin and leave them in the fridge overnight. I have left them in the fridge for a couple days if I can't get to them right away. I don't like to leave them that long, but have never had an issue with it. I will put a cap full of antibacterial in a spray bottle and use that to keep the face moist while I am skifeing and doing final thinning on face. Maybe not necessary, but it makes me feel better. 

[m2bowhunter]

Thank you all for your advice, and a special thank you to Bruce Rittle for answering my email on the matter. Looks like I'll give the ol auto tanner another try before I abandon this method of tanning.
Thanks to all,
Jeff