Can you take the cape from pickle bath straight to freezer or should i rinse and neutralize and rinse and then put in freezer for later use,how dry should the cape be before i freeze it . I checked the archives all 7 pages and couldnt get it . THANK YOU DP
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When i said how should i dry cape i meant to ask should i hang it drip dry and towel off before freezeing,or should it be completely dry. THANK YOU
It is fine to pickle the cape flesh and freeze. The acid in the cape will keep it preserved very well.
Even if the freezer should be unplugged for days that cape will be fine.
I once had five bear in one freezer, the ex-wife unplugged it. I discovered this 3 weeks later. I was totally freaked out, I thought certianly those hides were gone.
I never lost any of the bear and I have Pronghorn, mule deer and a several fox and bobcats in it also.
I never lost anything, she was pissed when she found out. She never tried that again!
DONT NEUTRALIZE!
Now of course according to some goofballs I dont know anything and have never done any taxidermy work, I get it from a book at the desk here in Key West.
roll the cape in a long roll and dont wad it up tight, you still want the air to freeze the cape quickly.
....just tan it right away and then freeze? Do this and you can just take it out, tumble, and mount! That is what I'm doing now, seems to be a nice time management tool. You could also just leave it in the pickle untill your ready but then your going to have to keep an eye on the PH.
I have been all though the search button and the archives and it seems to me you know plenty about this work. Let me get this straight take from pickle dont neutralize. (should i rinse) (drain and towel dry ? )roll in long roll flesh side in wrap air tight. THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVISE !
Why can't you neutralize and then freeze and if i have a few capes in the freezer how long can i keep them there without having to worry i would get them mounted within the month
Neutralizing and then freezing them would expose them to the high PH too long! Dont do it. You risk having loose hair even slippage when they thaw.
Remove them from the pickle, drain, then "damp dry" them (use old towels or even sawdust) and freeze them. Foldthem instead of rolling - that way they thaw out more evenly and the liquids can drain away.
thank you for the info i really appreciate it i am self taught just from a Van Dykes gamehead manual and a lot of trial and error and i think it is so cool to come on here and learn stuff and get answers from people i would consider "celebrities" because they were the first names i knew in the taxidermy business from catalogs and magazines and such like bruce Rittel thx again