I mounted the Elk lastnight and since it has been raining for 3 days I went ahead and put my Dehumidifier on in my shop. It was 68% when I started. At what % can I shut the thing off?
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I've already looked it up in 'Search'and never found anything.
If you are spraying PVA you want it around 40%. Cigars do well at 70%. In the arrid regions of the west it is often at 20%. In the deep south it is commonly at 85%. Mounted deer dry out the best around 60%. You can dry out animals too fast and cause some cracking around the nose & eyes. Fish seem to do the best when they dry really quick. Sometimes the NTA has its convention out west. Every time taxidermists from the east coast go out west to compete, their mounts go from high humidity to low humidity. Usually a little cracking and popping take place after about 2 days. Experienced judges don't go very ballistic over the new hairline cracks in the finish work because they have seen it before. The remedy is to paint all transitional skin areas with lacquer based fungicidal sealer before you do any finish work. You also need to allow the mount at least a month to dry before doing any finish work. If you wait till the last minute to do your competition piece you will crash & burn!
When I got up this morning the humidity was at 60% and had shut off itself. I appreciate all the imformation you gave. I try and leave my stuff dry at least a month before I do any finish work. I don't compete yet so don't have to worry ,but will keep your information for future reference. Thanks again for the help. DS