I am working on a young juvenile swan. Unfortunately it is stained pretty badly and I just can't get it white enought to suit me. I have washed it 4 times, degreased and soaked it in the bird tan. Any suggestions? I also tried laundry detergent spray on stain remover, no luck.
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I live in MD and deal with birds on the bay. Some of them are very dirty due to the water. Weve got a lot of companies that have dumped into the waters over the years. Our waters have a high metal content in them. McKenzie sells a rust remover that is for stains like this. I have used it and it has worked on some birds and others it didn't I guess it depends what the stain is from. Just an option if you think you may have the same problem.
may give that one a try
it is a rust remover that can be found at kmart...and probably other local stores. I have had good luck with it on snow and ross geese that have stains on them.
Rust remover can get it at wal-mart in the laundry detergent section. but a little bit on a cotton ball and wipe on stained areas. Works great.
A product called Iron Out also works very well. It is also known as Yellow Out. I like this product over Winks because Winks still leaves the mineral in the feathers and they look rough. You can also feel the roughness on the feathers. The iron out seems to remove more of the mineral leaving the feathers really white and soft giving a better look. It is also found in walmart in the cleaning section.
Don't for get to glove up and do it outside as it has a strong smell to it.
I am new to taxidermy so please don't take my suggestion as a suggestion from an expert...but, when we need to make our horses manes snow white, especially after a long winter, we use Milk of Magnesesa(sp?) in full strength. Rub it in, and let it set for 10-15 minutes than wash out. It does the trick. I dounbt if it would hurt the hide too much as it is gentle. Just a suggestions from a amateur.