I am starting out in taxidermy and bought a bobcat frozen whole and when I skined it the eyes and lips were so dried out I couldn't turn them. This is what I have done so far, Ruff fleshed and salted for about 20 hrs and then place in a pickle to rehydrate the eyes and lips as I found this info in the archives. But what I want to know is after lips and eyes rehydrate should I neutralize right away and turn eyes and lips then resalt until dry or return to the pickle for another day or so. I didn't expect to have these head aches just starting out but what better time is there for problems to arrive. Any info would be helpful. Thank you Chris.
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Bruce Rittel has a product called ultra soft, US-609. Check into purchasing this because it is great for rehydrating freezer burned skins. This will loosen the hardness right up. Have had great results with it and keep on using it. Good Luck, Dan
You made a mistake in the sequence of proper tanning. The skinning,fleshing and salting are fine. You made the mistake by rehydrating in the pickle that is a no no. The pickle actually plumps the skin and makes it a little more stiff for shaving down. I just rehydrate in water with a little bacteriacide in it. I then move on to the pickling. I am sure this is where your problem is. As far as correcting this ask Bruce Rittel Like Dan mentioned he should be able to help.
Todd B
i have alwaws rehydrated my salted skins in the pickle, with no problems. i do not understand why this would be wrong. if this is not right please let me know, and why.
lee
asking. The hide was not salt dried at all it was in the first salting stage and the lips and eyes were freeze dried from the freezer and I found in the archives that you can use the pickle solution to rehydrate the eyes and lips so I can open them up. What I want to know is after I get the eyes and lips open should I resalt until dry after neutralizing? Maybe I got bad info in the archives or you just didn't understand my first post Thanks again
Chris you just need to thin the eyelids and lips the best you can during the pickling stage.Then nuetralize,then tan.Not much you can do abut the freezer burn.