i was wondering if i could dry perseve a fox for mounting
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Do it all the time! Be sure to clean it well(deodorize) first, tumble, and shake out WELL- and you're ready to mount!-Susan
Gary,
You can use dry preserve on the fox for mounting but I would tan the fox instead of the dry preserve. Not saying that you will not obtain good results with D.P., I just think that tanning the fox will provide a more optimum result for years to come. Ed.
Whose gonna mention degreasing when DPing? Surely you degrease? Dont you?
OOOPS! So I'm human and make a mistake every now and then. Let's do this again. After you have fleshed the fox, clean and degrease it by washing it thouroughly in Dawn dishwashing detergent(Use deodorizer if needed). Rinse well. Hang the hide up in a cool, safe place(where the dog or cat can't reach it)to allow the excess water to drain off. After draining, lay the hide out on a dry towel and roll it up. Not too tight now, and "DON"T WRING OUT OR TWIST THE TOWEL as it may pull some of the hair/wiskers/claws-or even rip the hide. You can sort of pat it to help the towel to absorb more water.
With all this "handling" going on...the temperature of the hide is warming up. If hair slippage is a concern, I leave the fox rolled loosely in the towel and lay it in the freezer about 15-20 minutes to cool it back down before tumbling. This also gives me time(if I hadn't definitely decided to mount it) to set up my form, put in the eyes, and get ready to mount.
At this point you can either re-freeze it or decide to mount it. If ready to mount, ("We" paint the inside of the nose pad, eyes/eyelids and lips with Liqua-tan to help guard against cracking and to keep shrinkage to a minimum)-throw it in your tumbler with DP(we also use cedar chips in our tumbler with the DP as a natural deodorizer and it "fluffs" the fur while tumbling to better distribute the DP on the hide.), after tumbling shake out well(check paws, ears, and tail for holding excess DP/chips inside pockets) and shake it out again. At this time you start to mount this varmint...I expect you know what's to be done from here on out. I'm sorry if I sorta' shortchanged you on instructions before...I guess I just take things for granted sometimes... I guess it's better for us to give a little too much information than a little too little. Have fun, I always do.-Susan that
Was that enough info for ya?...LOL...-Susan