Submitted by Ron on 3/16/99. ( judynron@mtaonline )
From what I have read you should coat your forms with orange shellac before putting the hide on. I am having no luck finding any around here. I do find the clear, will this work or is there another process that will work. thanks
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This response submitted by b.s.rhea on 3/16/99. ( )
HYey Ron orange shellac is the same thing as denatured alcohol,I think??
This response submitted by Carl on 3/16/99. ( )
Try home building suppliers for orange shellac as its used as lot to seal knots in wood.
This response submitted by John C on 3/16/99. ( )
Here is a question.
You sand a form opening up a million small holes.
Why then coat the form to seal it??
It stands to reason with all the tiny holes to grip the glue you will get less druming.
I have a two year old mount that was not sealed and four judges have not been able to find any drumming.
The latest gig from a judge was "YOU DON'T ENTER OLD MOUNTS IN COMPETITION!"
It still is good enough to take a third place. Hum NO DRUMING.
I have almost always had drumming when using a form that was sealed with something.
A SMOOTH SURFACE CANNOT GRIP LIKE A RUFF SUFACE.
John C
This response submitted by Ron on 3/16/99. ( )
Non coating sounds like the way to go, I read in two differnt books that said this was the way to go but it makes more sense not to. thanks for the advise.
This response submitted by callahan on 3/17/99. ( )
Orange shellac is now called AMBER shellac. You may have to have it ordered ( i do ) . I did see it in Home Depot . Yes you sand the mannikin but that leaves foam dust and particles to keep the paste from sticking, i think so anyway . I vaccuum the dust off and shellac the mannikin, i get no drumming . The shellac the form thing was the only way to go when there was only paper forms, anybody remember them ? It was also used to stablize +seal dried mache work so the skin paste wouldn't soften it . Handy stuff even today .
This response submitted by John Bellucci on 3/17/99. ( ArtistExpr@aol.com )
Hey there everyone,
Firstly, Orange -- or now as it is called Amber Shellac -- is not quite the same thing as denatured alchohol. Denatured alchohol is used to not only dissolve the shellac "flakes" used in making the Shellac, but to also "cut" the Shellac. This thins it for different applications -- especially in wood finishing projects.
As for it's use in "sealing" headforms and mannikins... it was best used on paper forms, to prevent the paper from absorbing the water from the hides, thus swelling and deforming.
Foam headforms and mannikins still need to be "primed" to insure full hidepaste adhesion. You can never get all of the dust off the surface to prevent it from "balling-up" under the hidepaste.
A better, if not the best product for using on a foam mannikin, is the Polytranspar Fin-Backing Cream, applied with a caulking gun and spread witn either a dampened hand or a dampened 2" brush.
This creates a primed and slight "dry-tacky" surface fully insuring the greatest adhesion of any hide paste used... even a thick and sticky dexterin-based hidepaste.
Combine this with hide nails, and those skins are going noplace fast.
Goodluck to all... John B.
This response submitted by bob on 3/17/99. ( jonastaxidermy@worldnet.att.net )
one more post, and then let's let this die. My friend John is right about the shellacing of paper forms. but we still use it for sealing the plaster after attaching a skull plate. or where plaster has been added as buildup or whatever.
we use clear bullseye shellac, and we have an orange tint added at the paint store. the color serves no purpose other than to see how well you've applied it.
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