I have a couple customers that inquired about reparing old mounts. one is a white tail that has the seam coming apart, like about two inches where it was stitched down the back. And there are holes in the ears where bugs have eaten thru. This mount is about 10 years old but the customer said it happened just after he got it from the taxidermist. Can these be fixed and how? I tried searching the archives under reparing head mounts, but can't find info.
Where to look or any info will help.
Thanks Kathy
Return to Beginners Category Menu
Best bet is to replace the hide complete. Charge him for a mount plus a replacement hide if he's still interested.
1st of all I have a question ......if the mount was in this shape after getting it back from the other taxidermist ......why didnt the customer take it back and have it fixed when he first noticed the problems?
As for your question ......my suggestion would be to remount the deer with another cape.......charge the customerfor the cape + what you charge now for mounting w/t deer...
I have done that in the past and the customer wondered why he didnt bring the mount to me in the 1st place and they were much happier than they were before......Now, I have them as a repeat customer and they tell their buddies about me and my work and I have more customers due to that fact.
Good luck to you and happy mounting....Jeff
If you do not want to go through the trouble of remounting it and the customer wants the deer to be left original there are other options for you. I took in a deer that the customer just wanted "cleaned up". It was 30 years old and came from a smoking home. I took a rag and very lightly buffed the hairs with acetone. That removed the smoke damage. There was a 2 inch gap in the back where the seam had opened up. I carefully cut hairs from the back of the mount. These were the hairs that had been pulled around the back of the mount, so they would not be missed. I used Dap caulk and spread it evenly down the seam. Starting from the shoulders and working towards the head I took the cut hairs and filled the gap. it looked great and didn't take up much time. I did the same thing for an ear with the tip broken. Then I used the airbrush to redo finishwork around the eyes and nose. Lastly I gave it a spray of Showsheen. and the customer was thrilled to death. If you can get it 75 percent the customer will be quite happy. I take a picture of the mount when it came in and an after picture. Good luck!
Thanks George, Jeff and Jeanette. Your responses gave me new insight!
My question to my customer was also why didn't you take it back, and he said " Well I got such a good deal I felt bad taking it back, guess I got what I paid for!"
God Bless! Kathy