I know this has been asked before, and the archives say degrease better.
I've done 50 birds this year, and this just started to happen when it got real cold out. I put the skin on the wheel till i'm about ready to burn through. When i wash, i put dawn on the skin first and work it in, then wash 3 more times in dawn and rinse. I'm still getting some grease out of the insision. I guess my question is, i have my shop set up in the garage in northern illinois. The wife makes me turn the thermostat all the way down at night, so it's probably 45 or so out here. In the morning i turn it back up to 70. Could this drastic change in heat be causing this. This just started happening when it got down to single digits at night. Any help would be greatly appriciated. Thank You, Scott Olson
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Without seeing how you do a bird it is hard to say. The problem is most certainly you are not getting all the fat off. Concentrate your wheeling on and around the incision. I find that when I am doing a bird I go a little easier near the incision just because I down want to rip it. I bet you are doing the same thing. Are you using borax on the skin too? Borax not only bug proofs the skin but it soaks up fat and grease too as the skin dries. If you are tanning the skin and not using borax too it would most certainly help soak up some of the leftover junk.
Good luck
Joe V
...that trying to raise the temperature 30 degrees each morning actually uses more electricity and fuel than to keep it at a constant 68. Temperature definitely has a role in removing the fat. That's why commercial clippers (dish washers) use HOT hot water. Dawn has a relatively low pH as compared to other soaps and it needs warmer temperatures to work well. If you can't be in charge of the thermostat, maybe you should consider using a stronger soap.
Thank you for the help with this. I am using a liberal amount of borax when i mount. I didnt think i was being really easy around the insision, but i suppose that could be the case. i didnt know if the colder temps at night would have affected the dryng prosses to cause this sense it just started to happen. Thank you very much for the help.
Scott Olson
When washing with Dawn, the water has to be fairly warm (not hot.)
Could that be part of the problem? 'Just guessing ...
First of all, borax is not a bug-proofer. It aids in the cleaning of the skin and also in the drying. It draws out moisture. Joe was correct in that the incision should be clean. I find that if my incision is not clean I loss girth in my skin. Also the grease could run. You must make sure your entire skin is clean. I usually use the statement "clean enough to eat on" when I do seminars and really that is not far from the truth. As for the temp in your shop- oh my gosh dude- from 45 to 70, you're asking for a drying problem in all your mounts. You really should see if you and your wife can come to a happy medium. Now, just for the fun of it- are you using the real head? If you are, and you're not cleaning the head and bill well, grease from the head and neck could run and show arounds the incision , and with temptature changes you have going- who knows. I will go out on a limb here and say cleaning is your problem. When you think you're fixing to blow it out, hit it just a little more. hope this helps.