Submitted by Tom on 11/22/1998. ( kimberly@compucenter )
Can a deer hide that has been mounted for a couple years by means of dry preservative be taken off the form and go thur a pickling bath and oil. If not, is there anyway to be able to reuse the hide on a new form?
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This response submitted by Bruce Rittel on 11/24/1998. ( rittel@ici.net )
The chances are, since it was treated with a Dry Preservative, the skin is probably not retannable. Over time, untanned skins have their skin fibers collapse, or what is called geletanise. The fibers actually glue themselves together - and its almost impossible to relax and open them up later for tanning. This is especially true where a Deerhead has been exposed to heat. As the heat drives out the fluids locked in the fibers, it begins to glue the fibers. This is sometimes referred to as "Weeping", and is usually followed by some shrinkage as the "Glueing" takes place. Happy Tanning!
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