Can someone please answer my question?I am going to do a few dear heads this year with the Liqua Tan method.I have just one question.After I have prepared the cape as far as for mounting eyes lips and ears split.I salt the cape the first day come back the next day shake off the old salt and resalt.What do I do to relax the cape to mount?I guess what I am getting at should I pickle or can I just rehydrate?All help is very much appreciated.THANKS
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Hello Tim,
The only time you need to rehydrate durin the salting process is if you totally salt dry it. If so, you can use Ultra Soft relaxer, salt and water. It may take 8-10 hours of soaking to rehydrate. Then place the cape into the pickle.
You can also salt for 2 days and just place it into the pickle. But salt drying will help you to set the hair.
I hope that this will help.
Have a great day,
Dave
What do you use for the pickle and how long do you leave it in the pickle? Will it be ready to Liqua Tan after it comes out of the pickle?
Tim, we get this question alot form our customers who do their own deer capes, but send us the bigger stuff. What I tell them, and they all do get much better results, is go ahead and re-hydrate, even if you don't completely dry the skins. It won't take real long, and the skins will return to the feel of almost a fresh skin. By using the re-hydrater you also get a cleansing action on the hair and fur. Once the skin has been completely re-hydrated, it will pickle much better, making it easier to shave and accept the tan. It'll cost you a little more in time and product, but you'll find the end result is worth it. Just use whatever you feel comfortable with for a pickling agent.
Keith,
I certainly would never tell you your job but I dont understand something.
If you completely re-Hydrate a skin to its normal liquid copasity,whats left to obsorb the pickle? If I take a sponge that is completely saturated with water, and try to clean up a spill with it, it wont obsorb because its reached its filling capasity.
But if I take tat same sponge and ring it out, it will obsorb the water I spilled. Thats because the sponge was thirsty for it.
So, my question is....if you take a totally re-hydrated skin and put it into the pickle, whats left in the skin to obsorb the pickle? If its totally re-hydrated, how can the skin obsorb more than it can retain?
I'm just real curious about that.
Thanks for any input!
Have a great evening,
Dave
Hi Dave, absorb isn't really the right word, I guess. The skin doesn't need to be like a dry sponge, just being in contact with the acid in the pickle will basically cause it to "pull" the pickle into the skin, swelling it and opening the fibers so the acid can penetrate deeper into the skin, breaking down more of the non-tannable fats and protiens, making it pickle, and ultimately tan more evenly. Yes, a little agitation will also help, just like clothes in a washing machine, agitation helps get the detergent in the fibers to clean the dirt out.
I don't sell tanning products, so I don't really care what people use, but I can tell you that every one who I've told to do it this way has had much better success with their in shop tanning, getting skins that shave much easier and give a softer skin with more stretch for mounting.
Keith
Thanks a bunch for the info Keith. You just taught an old dog a new trick.I've been doing it the way I was taught for years. I'll try your way the next time.
Thanks again,
Dave
Just trying to help. Watch what it does for your thicker areas of the skin, that's where you'll notice it the most.
Keith