I am about to start mounting my third WT deer and I'm thinking about
using Bondo instead of ear liners. The two deer that I have mounted,
I used earliners and left the cartilage attached to the ear. This
must be wrong because the cartilage did not adhere very well to the
earliners.( I used Sallie Dahmes hidepaste)Should I leave the cartilage attached with using Bondo? I'm mounting the cape on a full
sneak form, so I plan on making the ears lay back. HOPEFULLY. I also
have a small hole at the tip of one of the ears. I would appreciate
any advice.
Sean K.
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When using the bondo ear method, the cartilage is left in place. You might score it with a knife for better adhension. When using a quality earliner, like Epply's, remove the cartilage and use a two part expoxy such as smooth out to adhere the liner to the ear skin. Good Luck.
Well you thought that the ear liners didn't hold with leaving the cartilage. Right. Now you think that if you use bondo and still leave the cartilage in is going to make a difference. You may be lucky but sooner or later this will also drum. The odds are against you. Maybe 10 to 1 that this happens to all bondo ears.
The proper way and it's only mine and most others opinion is to remove the cartilage. Use a good quality ear liner, rough it up some. Now add some epo-grip epoxy and then set your ears. Now you will not have any drumming and you also won't have a ear that looks like it's been lifting weights (thick ears)
Sean, It seems that most people toaday are on the earliner bandwagon. Not long ago Bondo was the only way to go. I suggest you try both and use whatever works best for you. Personally, I have tried both, and for now I will stick to the bondo method. I haven't had any problem with drumming, and my customers are very happy with their mounts. Be sure to dip the ear (inside-out) in mineral spirits to get the oil off so the bondo will stick. I Mix my bondo 50/50 with fiberglass resin, and a little fiberglass chop. Sure a bondo ear isn't as thin as a earliner, but most people don't want people touching their mounts anyway.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'm going to try using both methods and see how they turn out. Thanks again for taking time to answer my question. This forum is great!
Sean K.
There are several ways like everyone has told you. But the easiest & cleanest way that I have found is to use a good pair of earliners & a good glue after removing the cartlidge. Ive always had excellant results this way. Good Luck.
Have you ever seen an old deer mount in a bar room? The ears all popped open. Cartilage will shrink. Get it out!