ok been reading some of your posts about using the JRTS cream tan because that is the one i'll be using alot. some questions for you... i have a flint dried deer cape that im going to mount what should i soak it in to rehydrate it before applying this tan cream it is pretty hard so if i need a relaxer i was thinking of kemal 4? next question, on some animals like coyote, bear, coon, would i need to use a degreaser first after salting overnight before using this product if so should i try kemal 4 or will the dawn soap be ok? ok now 2 more dumb questions for you... in your wash after salting and tanning cream is it just water and for how long do you wash? then after tanning do you do a cape fleshing on the fleshing machine for animals like deer and elk, for small mammals just face and eyes. thanks for your time. sorry about bothering you but i want to be doing the correct things. thanks
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I ain't that smart and adding multiples to the quiz don't help, but let's give it a try.
Big difference in the way I use JRTS and your using a dried hide, is that I wouldn't touch it without pickling that sucker. I do not use the pickle step with JRTS UNLESS there's a questionable hide. This one would fit that list for me.
When I rehydrate a hide, I use lukewarm water and a couple handfuls of salt in the water. I let it set in the water about 30-45 minutes, gently turning it on occasion to insure that it's getting wet. Then I drain it and bag it overnight. Then it would go right in the pickle at 1.0 pH for a couple days, drain, flesh, pickle for a couple hours and neutralize. Then I'd paint the JRTS on it.
On greasy hides, I usually wash them with Epo-Grip Degreaser right after initial fleshing. Then I rinse them off to get rid of the high pH soap, spin dry in an old dryer, and then salt overnight. I usually complete all my major fleshing on these guys right before I start. I rinse the salt of the next day and paint on JRTS.
On the big guys, I flesh completely, salt overnight, rinse off, and tan. I tan for about 10 hours usually and then roll it up with the JRTS still on it and freeze it until I'm ready to use it. When I'm ready, I take the hide out and wash it almost immediately. The JRTS won't allow it to freeze hard, so this is really easy when you use lukewarm water. Then after the JRTS has been washed away, I wash the hide to cleanse dirt and blood from it. (This is the first washing these hides have gotten since they came in.) I use Knobloch's Pre-Soak and I allow them to set in that solution for at least 20 minutes. Then I rinse in clear waster, spin dry, and lay flesh side down on a towel to mop up any water retained on the skin. After a few minutes, the flesh side becomes tacky and this is when I use my fur dressing machine to final shave the hides down. (My initial fleshing is done with the machine, but I'm not as particular then as I am during this last step). Shaving is so much easier on a hide that's been cooled in a freezer than one you take right from the tanning step to the mounting step. I try to always leave a hide in the freezer at least one night before mounting because of this.
You'll come up with your own techniques and they'll work better for you. Good luck.