i have mounted a deer with d/p and i am wondering how long will it last before it falls apart please dont tell me about how tanning is better because i am not skilled enough yet to start tanning my hides. i just wont to know about how long d/p will last
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If you have properly prepared the skin and used a good glue, your mount should last for many years. If the mount is exposed to extreme temperature and humidity changes, it will likely start to crack around the eyes down the road. However, if you keep the mount in a fairly climate controlled environment, it should do fine... You will hear a lot of people run DP down, but there are a lot of good looking mounts out there that are done with DP. I personally don't use it for anything but birds, fish, and squirrel-sized mammals.
I have some taxidermy that is over 30 years old that was preserved with Borax. It all still looks like it did way back then...
30yrs also
I mounted my first deer with DP 28 years ago and it looks awful.
BUT it looked awful the day I finished it. LOL. It is holding up
very well even though it's hidden in a closet.
John_NY
and they still look about the same
Since cracking around the eyes, nose and lips is inevitable with most DP head mounts, I'd oil the crap out of those areas right from the get go to prevent those problems. Using tanning oil or needsfoot oil, with a paint brush, soak those areas down very good with the oil. I'd apply a couple heavy coats and let them soak in for a couple weeks during the drying process before finishing.
Since the 1st step to mounting a deer is skin prep, why didn't you learn how to tan a cape first before you mounted it?