Has anyone used Knobloch's Liqua-Tan for tanning deer capes? If so, does the cape look as good as pickling or other tanning methods? Thanks.
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Thousands have used it. It is a paint or rub on tan, if you have thick spots in the skin, there is a slight chance of surface tan and it may not penetrate all the way through. These tans work well if everything is thinned the way it should be. Knoblochs prints two separate directions on the bottle, one with a pickle, and one without. The directions {highly recommends} using a pickle with it. I think it works well and is very close to the McKenzie tan. Works great on Hogs as well as deer.
And have never had any problems with the stuff. I thin my capes real well, and use a formic acid pickle in conjunction with the liqua-tan. It works well for me, so I've never tried anything else.
No tan looks like a pickle. A pickle hide is a hide that has acid in it to make it swell so you can shave it thinner plus it aids in the tanning process.
With that said if you pickle a hide make sure that you neturlize it in a bath containing one ounze of sodium bicarbonate to a gallon of water. Do this for no more than twenty minutes. After that rinse and hang to drain for about thirty minutes.
After this is done you may now proceed with the tanning process. Rub the liqua-tan all over the hide, fold it and place it on the side for a day. It does say it works in four hours but I let it there for a day. From there I hang it for a day to dry iy out some and then place it in a bag and freeze it till I'm ready to work on it.
If your going to mount it then take the cape and I wash the cape in pert shampoo rinse well and then tumble the hide in a clothes dryer for about twenty minutes with about ten towels in it. Set the dryer on cool only. Take out and proceed to mount it.
Now I know the directions do say you can tan a hide with out pickling the hide. This is true and does work but it's recomended that you pickle the hide first.