before i mounted a duck i cleaned the feathers in a water and soap solution. after i rinsed and dried the feathers i mounted it on the form. i used a hair dryer to assist in the drying process. i then placed the bird in the drying room after i set the wings, feet and head. after retrieving it from the drying room a week later it still looks wet. the feathers look greasey possibly from the soap. is there anyway to make the feathers look dry and full.
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
Coleman fuel . It will degrease birds . You just have to be sure to get them rinsed real good and they shine .
If the bird has already "dryed" as you stated, the chances of rehydrating the skin and redoing are remote. Grease or fat on the feathers starts with the skin and migrates to the feather ends. Grease on the feathers left there after washing is most likely saturated in the feathers. The only way to get a "full" appearing bird is to clean and dry it well from the beginning. The only real way to remove soap is to wash it out with water - not very practical after the bird is dry and positioned.
Sorry this is not more encouraging, but it sounds like the bird is probably toast. Small spots of grease or dirt can be removed by soaking the area with a petroleum product (acetone, white gas, mineral spirits and the like) but grease and dirty feathers is a symptom of a deeper problem that centers in the skin. Some folks say they have been successful rehydrating a bird - I have not experienced that success. A note regarding the post from Bradlee - Coleman fuel has very limited degreasing properties other than possibly spot cleaning and then it is questionable. The primary use of fuel in the cleaning process is for displacing water that remains in the skin after rinsing. The residue you find in the bottom of a container after using the fuel is primarily water, not grease. Water is heavier that gas and sinks. Good Luck
Coleman fuel, Acetone, Mineral spirits or any other petroleum product you can think of is not now, nor were they EVER a degreaser. Check the lable of any degreaser on the shelf at Home Depot or (God forbid) Wal-Mart, they are soap solutions, plain and simple. Clint, I would bet you needed to wash more than you did OR you didn't rinse well enough, but I would lean more towards the first. The birds I wash get washed at least 3 times with 3 new batches of SOAPY water, I prefer Dawn but that's just my preference any soap will do, just don't be stingy with it use A LOT of soap. Then comes the rinse. Again at LEAST 3 rinses, usually 5. A rule I always try to use (I got this from Jon at Harlequin Taxidermy) is "if you think it's clean enough, wash it one more time, if you think the soap is all out of the skin, rinse it one more time".
THEN I use the coleman fuel to displace the water, that's the only reason I use it. Then he goes in the washing machine on the spin cycle, then it's off to the shop vac to blow dry.