I just put in a order to a company, forgot to add bacteriacide and I'm completly out. Is there anything that I can substitute for this. I'm worried about this cape and planed on tanning this weekend. I don't want to want for another shipment.
I searched the archives and I know Lysol dosen't work but maybe there's something else out there I can buy locally! Thanks
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I would just keep the thawing as fast as possible. Cold running water will do fine. do all the turning and felshing asap after tha cape has thawed, hanging the cape may help speed it, but I use running cold tap water.
You can add 2 tsps of chlorine bleach to five gallons of water. Even a 20 to 1 mix of vinegar (acetic acid) will kill germs.
It's salted dry right now...this is the cape you answered my question about the other day. It took forever to dry and that's why I'm worried about bacteria. I'm just trying to take precautions.
So when I rehydrate the cape in the brine solution I can add some vinegar or bleach and that will act as a bacteriacide?
Or would it make more sence to mix up a strong brine, and a pickle at PH of 1.5, let the cape relax for 20 mins to rinse off salt then straight to pickle? Will the salt residue in the cape raise the PH in the Pickle? Thanks John!
The reason I use 3.5 pH is I relax the skins in the pickle, but you must watch the pH. Salt will allow the pH to climb, so you have to add more acid.
I learned the hard way that a 2.0 pH will not relax a cape.
I would run 4 gallons of water, add 2lbs of salt and 2 tsp clorax, keep a check and add just enough acid to keep the pH under 6.0.
Once it relaxes go right into the pickle, the skin don't have to be dish rag soft. just limp.
Hope this helps.
all the taxidermist in my area would have let me find out the hard way...Thanks again for the help John!
Bleach also has a high pH, I wouldn't add it at all. If you use a strong brine solution, 2 lbs./gallon of solution, and use a large enough volume, you will not have any bacteria problem in the brine. Bacteria will not live in it. Of course if you had some bacteria working on the cape prior to rehydrating, the brine is not going to correct it. But, bacteria will not continue to grow in the brine. You can ask Bruce Rittel on this one, the brine is a safe temporary storage solution and you can leave the cape in it a couple of days, at least. When I rehydrate, they always stay in the brine at least one day.
four gallons may not be enough brine if the cape is large.
The cape is 6 3/4" x 14" it has been drying for about 2 weeks... finally took it out of the humid enviroment and hung in a dry area, gave a tug on the hair one night and nothing came out...next night it was 75-85% dry. So that's the history on this cape.
The time it took to dry is why I'm worried about bactera, even though I salted 4 diffrent times in this 2 week period.
Now I'm using Knobloch's tanning supplies and in thier directions it's says only to mix the brine at 1/4# per gallon of water as opposed to 2# per gallon of water as talked about here. If I make a strong brine will that negatively effect Knobloch's tan? This is how I plan on doing it so if I'm looking at trouble please let me know. Thanks Joe