I am mounting a drake and the sail feathers are seperated into small groups. Any suggestions on how to get these guys back in place are appreciated. Thanks, Jim
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The last thing I do to my skin ( after drying, and before applying borax ), is to tumble it in cedar chips ( pet bedding at petsmart ). It will preen the feathers back in place like nobodys business. I have an old clothes dryer, with the element removed to perform this task. I put the skin in a garbage bag with about 1/8 full of chips, fill the bag with air, tie it up with a piece of string, and tumble with no heat for about 10 minutes. When done shake off the excess chips by holding on both legs, and shake carefully. Any chips that cling to the skin will come off easily when borax is applied. Either spoon them out or sahake your skin again. Try it and tell me what you think.
There is a good chance that there is a small amount of soap residue left on the feathers not allowing them to zip back together. They work a lot like a Zip-Loc bag does. Take some laquer thinner and clean the areas that are separated with a Q-Tip. Then very gently start at the bottom and push the two together working all the way to the top. There mite be a little touch up to do but this should get you most of the way there. Good Luck!