I mount a decent duck, however, I need to take that next step into competition. The only thing I am concerned with is the smoothness of the feather flow on my birds. Just not wear I want it. Not ragged just a little rough. What causes this. Are maybe I'm not taking enough time working with it ?
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Rough handling of the bird leads to rough looking feathers. Sliding a bird around on the table can cause feathers to get beat up. Another reason feathers look rough is improper washing or rinsing. I rinse my birds a minimum of five clean rinses...sometimes more. I feel that tumbling also causes undue stress on the feathers. I only tumble very large birds (turkey, swan, large geeswe). On ducks, I let them drip until they drip no more after the mineral spirits. Then, I sift borax over the feathers. I use an air mattress pump to blow the feathers dry (no heat). If I have rough looking feathers, I will steam them and this helps. Another thing I didn't mention earlier, but definitely causes rough looking birds is the plumage not being fully developed. People on these forums sell birds that they put down in Oct. or Nov. and the plumage is just not at its peak...maybe on older birds, but not younger ones. Mount a duck that was killed late in January and you'll see the difference. Hope this helps!
I do three things that help me.
1 I use a smaller form..
2handle them like your working on a crappie..
3 I never tumble,never use a petrolium product instead I towl dry them and finsih drying on the form with a shop vac..I get nice smooth full bodies constantly........
What is the mineral spirits for and do you soak them after washing them?
mineral spirits will get out any remaining soap/water or grease (drys faster too).
as far as feathers - go with what the others have said: small form, THOROUGH wash, short/no tumble (i go couple minutes, or 50-60 revolutions), blow dry - and dry well.
hope this helps!