I just finished A WT shoulder mount and I tried putting ear liners in this one....but I had terrible results.
I first removed the cartlidge from the ears, Then I inserted a liner for fit,I had to cut about 1/4 from each liner to get a loose fit, I then soaked the liners in laquer thinner,then rolled liners in silica sand,I inserted the liners in the ears then used a 2 part epoxy to glue the skin to the liners,it all looked good till 3 days later. The inner ear skin drummed and turned black.
What did I do wrong here? If this is a common problem with liners I think I will stick to bonded ears I have much better results.
Any and all suggestions will be appriciated.
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WHY did you add the silica sand? That's the cause of the problem. The epoxy stuck to the grains of sand...not the ear liners itself...causeing the drumming...seperation.
Whoever told you to use silica sand as a barrier between the ear and epoxy needs thirty lashes with a semi-soft noodle.
It could be repaired but not easay to explain here. Staple the ears...cover with the hair...and repeat after me..."Dear God...".
~ ETCC
Wrap damp cloths aroiund the ears to rehydrate them some...softening the skin...before stapling. Air Brushing will help bring the color back to the ears.
~ ETCC
Here's what I do. I remove the cartlidge from the ear. I take and test fit the ear liners and make them fit loose about a 1/8 inch play all around. Then take the ear liner and ruff the entire surface with a stout ruffer. Make sure to get inside the iner ear section this is where you will get a lot of drumming. Then I apply a thin coat of latex caulk to both sides of the liner and insert into the ear. Take your fingers and work all around the ear untill the caulk is on all parts of the ear. After it starts to dry I may put ina few staples here and there to help prevent drumming. Never had one turn black yet might be the laquer thinner you used.
One could be wrong ear liner size to start with, which will cause drumming no matter what you do. Next using laquer thinner can also cause this. It can leave a residue and with some epoxies casue it to seperate or drum.
The method you used I know is in McKenzie's book and that's the way they recomend doing their earliners. I would rather scratch up the earliner with rough sandpaper wash it with soap and water, rinse, dry and then use the epoxy.
Now as for it turning dark on you it sounds like the hide is raw and the ears weren't tanned at all or the tan never penetrated the ear and dries up dark.
Don't give up on trying earliners, it's just a learning phase we all have to go through. Learn by your mistakes and try it again.
How was the hide prepared, tanned, dry preserve, etc?
This is one of those old wives tales that started when people used poor glue on plastic earliners. Caulk and water based glue are not going to do the job of epoxy, PERIOD. Epoxy will bond with the plastic, but when that old crap of dipping in lacquer thinner enters, as Frank said, you're just asking for trouble. Lacquer thinner and its residue break down epoxy.
Next, what's this about earliners being cut SHORT? Why the quarter or eighth inch gap? What's that all about? YOUR EARLINER SHOULD FIT! That means when you test fit it, the liner should be to the edge of the ear WITHOUT drumming in the center of the inner ear.
For over 40 years we had problems with earliners. The paper ones worked OK, but weren't strong, obviously. The metal one bent. Then came the plastic ones but no glue would hold it. We punched holes in them for years so that the water based and contact cements could bond the ear THROUGH the earliner, but they looked crappy. Then some genius found that lacquer thinner would soften the plastic temporarily but not long enough for the glue to work. So he dipped the softened ear into sawdust to get a "tooth" for the glue. If you're still using contact cement or caulk, or water based glue, that's still the only option you have going for you. But NOT WITH EPOXY.
Some of you will be very astonished to find that you don't have to do ANYTHING to an earliner when using epoxy. When Steve Steinbring and I were testing the first batches of Epo-Grip, it was alread accepted that the chemicals in the epoxy would displace any release agents and bond with the plastic earliners. I had been doing that for years and had never washed, buffed, brushed, or scratched an interior ear liner. I have mounts over 10 years old using that epoxy that are still as thin and crisp as the day they were done.
Did you happen to notice if the inner ear skin was black to begin with? Some whitetails come with black, or partially black inner ear skin from "the factory".
Some of these "modern" surfactants (shampoos, etc.) can produce black burns when reacted with some acids. If that be the case, the rest of the cape would have displayed little black dots through out on the flesh side. The little black dots would look like black powdeer burns. Uncommon, but possible, acid reactions with naturally occuring trace element in the water source.
I will note this as a valuable learning experience,throw out the laquer thinner and sand. I will give this another try with the scuffing and epoxy. Thanks to all the comments and suggestions.
GOOD THING THIS WAS A PRACTICE DEER AND NOT A CUSTOMERS.
I've had my current med Doctor for 13-years...and he's 'still' PRACTICING on his patients. Why should Deer Heads be any different?...LOL.
~ ETCC
Doctors bury there mistakes ours hang on the wall for all to see. LOL
'A+'...For that one.
~ ETCC
I use lacquer thinner with great results. Just goes to show you, I guess. I LIGHTLY scuff the surface with sandpaper, NO roughing, just a light texture. I splash on the thinner, apply water based glue, and insert the liner. Pushing the skin and glue around usually gets them starting to set. I dont use very much glue, either.