What Kind of Chemicals Go in to Tanning?

[wolfforce58205]

I know, stupid question, but bear with me please. So I'm no taxidermist, and I've never tanned my own hide. But I full well support taxidermy, and people have given me the going over for it. One thing that's come up numerous times is that tanning is bad. Evil, evil tanning! All of those harmful chemicals! It's SO much worse than all the other stuff we do! One person even linked me to a site recently, and I noticed it said that tanning solutions frequently have things like formaldehyde in them, or cyanide. To me, that just didn't sound quite right. And I can't figure out what key words to put into Google to get the results I'm looking for to find out what really goes into those tanning solutions.

So help an idiot out: what kind of things go into popular tanning solutions?

[Keith Daniels]

Lot of bad information out there, especially with the anti crowd on social media sites, I've even been told there's coal tar used. They'll say anything to try and make their position sound good to uneducated people.

As far as fur dressing goes, which is what you use for your taxidermy tanning, it can actually be done with nothing but water, table salt, an acid that is consumable such as food grade citric or vinegar, food grade alum as the tan and some kind of natural oil such as fish oil or vegetable oils. The oils can tend to go "rancid" over time if left in the raw state though. What is used in production dressing is not much different.

[cyclone]

You still have to use dihydrogen oxide, aka hydric acid, no matter what..it can be quite dangerous given the wrong conditions....It has been found to be a major threat to the environment and to human and animal health. 

Dig up the MSDS.

[Keith Daniels]

We do? Where do I look to find that I'm using it cyclone? That's a new one to me, I'd like to find out.

[cyclone]

We do? Where do I look to find that I'm using it cyclone? That's a new one to me, I'd like to find out.

Yep, we do....Check out the MSDS.  




http://www.dhmo.org/msdsdhmo.html

[hounddoggy]

so thats why im twitching

[Keith Daniels]

Where?

[cyclone]

Where to find it or where is doggy twitching?


http://www.dhmo.org/msdsdhmo.html


http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9927321

[Keith Daniels]

I kind of wonder where doggy is twitching too, but I mean where does it show up in my tanning process? You going to the WV show by any chance cyclone, I'd like to sit and talk with you sometime.

[cyclone]

Dihydrogen oxide or hydric acid is  widely used in the tanning industry.

Perhaps I should use the common nomenclature....

water..

Didn't click on the links did ya?




Sit and talk?  You'll probably want to whup me now...

Kind of unlikely that I'd go but then again it isn't all that far.  
I'll be in that area a couple weeks after the show, when spring turkey comes in..

[paul e]

hounddoggy you aint scared of water are you lmao?

[Keith Daniels]

I didn't look at the second ones, just the first! Heck no I don't want to whup on you, you know chemistry and enough about tanning (dressing) it would be a good talk. I know people in the leather industry that know so much it makes your head spin, dressing isn't as cut and dried as leather. There's some with chemistry background, some with experience, very few with both, and a lot of smoke blowers!

[David Patton]

You still have to use dihydrogen oxide, aka hydric acid, no matter what..it can be quite dangerous given the wrong conditions....It has been found to be a major threat to the environment and to human and animal health. 

Dig up the MSDS.

Dihydrogen monoxide is a lethal chemical and can be a killer in the right quantities!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

[cyclone]

Actually, all chemicals can be lethal...


I always get a kick out of the "Chemical Free" advertisements. 

[RedWolf7]

I sent one of my lab techs to get some "dehydrated water" from the chemical shed.  He really looked for it!!  And you really gotta watch that dihydrogen monoxide.  Traces of it have been found in the cells of every person who has ever died of cancer.  "Proximity does not prove causality" my cousin George McDonald, Attorney at Law