After having fully mounted a green winged teal, the feathers look dull. I do a final rinse in mineral spirits just before mounting and the sheen of the feathers is gone. Any suggestions?
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has the bird been mounted? If it is a special bird you might be able to rewash if it is still fresh but it's a gamble. I have done it before.
don't use mineral spirits or white gas. dish soap and Epo-Grip is all I use. If the bird is defatted properly, using those two items your birds will come out real nice.
Here is my process, once the bird is defatted rinse under warm water to remove most of the fat, use a brush on the inside of the skin( tooth or nail brush)sound rediculous but it works. Take it to the soap skin side out and wash, warm water once you feel it's clean(you can tell by the color of the water) flip it feather side out and repeat. once yo have a good feeling about the feathers soak in Epo-Grip for a few min.keep agitating the feathers, remove, rinse and wash again in dish soap and rinse till the soap is gone.
I then like to throw it in the wash machine on spin and spin the water out
It is tedious work but is worth it, you will notice the difference.
If you don't have Epo-Grip, dish soap only. I got away from white gas and have never looked back.
I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question.
I have done the same procedure you're talking about many times before, but it seemed like the extra drying time needed with water made it hard for me to get the feathers to set right. I also had a higher rate of feather slippage too. (thats why I switched to the mineral spirits) Birds turn out great, just dull looking feathers.
Do you turn your skinned birds in a tumbler with corn cob grit after the spin cycle or do you immediately mount. It usually took me about 30-40 minutes with a hair dryer to get the feathers manageable. Any more tips? Thanks again.
Warm water with dawn is what I use and that's all you need if the bird is fleshed properly. The feathers come out beautiful everytime. Warm water is the key though. I wash atleast 3-4 times and rinse. I gently ring by hand and pat dry with towel, then blow dry. I don't like to tumble my birds(just me)I can blow dry my ducks and gamebirds(except turkeys) in about 15 min. With no grit or dust stuck to them. I can dry a turkey in about 30 min.
thanks for your tips. Much appreciated