I have been using saftee acid and liqua tan and really like it but my capes still seem to feel dirty when the deer is finished. These are the steps I use. First I flesh then turn the lips eyes and nose then I salt for 24 hrs shake off old salt and resalt for 24 hrs next I pickle in saftee acid at a ph. of 1 for three days then shave and apply liqua tan and let sit overnight then mount. I see in the archives that some people wash in dawn when is the best time to do that and when I am done liqua tanning should I tumble the cape thanks for any help Jamie
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PH is way low, you need to raise it. Are you letting the hides dry overnite?
I had a couple capes pickled and ran them through the washing machine. then applied Liqa Tan, they seem to be fine.
I will wash in ERA laundry det.and stretch them back out tomorrow
Wash them while the ph is still low.
Or wash them when they come in the shop.
Have you ever tried Van-Wet. After salting I always put my capes in the van wet. This relaxes the hide and also breaks up the protein. I am always amazed of how much that will clean them up. I highly recamend taking the time to do this step.
hope this is helpful
Clint
After you shave the hide and having the PH at 1 doesn't hurt. I use and my pickle is usually kept at that. They plump up nice and shave thin. But after you shave it it's recomended to place back in the pickle for 24 hrs and then you need to neturlize the cape in water and a tablespoon of baking soda. From there I will apply the liqua-tan leave sit over night and either freeze it or if I'm going to mount it wash it in Pert shampoo or Era, rinse well and then tumble and mount.
I am using a very similar tanning "system" to Jamie's. I do not have a power flesher yet of any sort. I've been using a scalpal to go over the entire cape after picling/neutralizing. Any suggestions to achieve a quality-shaved cape by hand would be helpful. I still seem to battle shrinkage around the eyes and lips. Do I need to shave thinner? How much Liqua-tan should the average cape absorb using this sequence? Prior to adding the pickling step, I could "tan" about 5 capes (white-tail) with a quart of Liqua-tan. Now with the addition of the pickling step the cape seems more like a "sponge", could watch it soak right in. Give it all it will take?