Looking for advice on freshening up an old bear rug (around 45 yrs)
I would like to hang it on a wall, its backing is cloth sewn on with felt edging its in good shape but should I replace it or clean it somehow to get the old smell out? The hide look ok, just dry and dusty. Any help greatly appreciated.
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Bucky, Anytime I clean old taxidermy work I go at it very carefully. Each piece can be a very different experience from any other. For your rug I would go after any dust first that has worked it's way into the hair. This could be where that old smell is hiding. A gentle but thorough vacumn cleaning of the hair as well as the fabric- (don't use a shop vac on this) or blowing with an air compressor should remove most all of the dust. Next I would test wash a small area using a clean white rag using a bit of shampoo on the dampened cloth. This is to determine how dirty the hair is- don't soak the hide, just dampen the fur enough to see how much dirt comes off on the rag. At the same time you are discovering just how dirty the hair is, you can see how fragile or sturdy it is. Hopefully the hair doesn't come out with a little rubbing of the damp cloth. If the hair seems tight I would damp rag wash the whole thing using a little shampoo followed by several damp clean rag "rinses". When the white cloth no longer picks up visable dirt the hair will be clean. Blow dry the fur with low heat. NOW, some of these old hides won't take much cleaning as they will shed badly, possibly from old bug damage. Go at it carefully. Also the dyes in the fabric may bleed so I would not get the cloth wet however some wiping with a damp cloth would probably not hurt. After cleaning and drying, a treatment with Mountshield or similar product will freshen the hair with a nice smell as well as offer some deterant to bugs. Many taxidermists offer a cleaning service along with touchup to the mouth, eyes and nose for older rugs like yours and can replace the backing if necessary. These old rugs can look surprisingly good after a good refurbishing. Hope you find this helpful- enjoy, Aaron H.
So far so good, no hair coming off small area and not much dirt on white washcloth. This is a long hair blonde bear and I'll keep at it and look for Mountshield tomorrow.