First I have read thru the Archives and there is alot on this topic. I don't have access to a pond. I have 8 racks with dried blood on/in them and have had the velvet totaly stripped. The outfitter put them in a lake for 2 days. Alot of the points are soft and spongy. I can't split some as they are to be book scored so I don't have a tub that is big enough for these racks either. Once they are dried hard can I scrub (with what?) and leave in the sun a day or 2 to bleach out? I don't want to risk taking these out to a lake and have them mowed over with a boat/banged around the lake bottom or stolen. Is there a point when it is to late to submerse the racks that can be split? They are already dry.
I would appreciate any help as soon as possible.
Thanks
John
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With the set of parameters, I don't know how you'll pull off the fete. Nothing that I'm aware of will "dissolve" the velvet without adversely effecting the entire rack. They can't be scored if the velvet is stripped partially or as velvet if the velvet has been partially removed. Your customer is in a quandary on this one and will have to decide what steps you'll need to take. I'd consider finding someone who'd "rent" me their private pond if that was the only option available.
Once the blood has dried it is VERY difficult to get out(read that, IMPOSSIBLE). You can hang them in the sun for a couple months and they will lighten a bit, I know this from experience. Most likely you will end up sealing the soft tissue with epoxy and then painting the entire rack white and then applying stain to ge a somewhat natural rack. All of this after they have been scored.
Try to talk the customers into artificial velvet after they have been scored. You will probably spend at least 8-10 hours on each rack, epoxying, painting and staining. And they will never be as nice as the velvet. Have Fun.
...the Outfitter stripped all the velvet then put them in a lake but only for a couple days so not all the blood came out before they dried. If I can locate a pond even though the racks are dried will the blood come out George?
Thanks
John
I have soaked the antlers with the dried blood for over a month with absolutely no luck. It's not going to come out. You will have better luck in the sun, but that still doesn't get it all. And too long in the sun will start to deteriorate the antler.
I only did it once but it worked. Had a very old and dried blood stained rack. Soaked it for a few days in the lake. Next i wrapped the entire rack with white towels, had to tie it on with twine to stay tight to the antler. Next i put it on a tarp in the sun for a full day and basted it every half hour to hour all day and then left it overnight until morning. I basted it with a very strong hydrogen peroxide, at least 25%. [caution, wear rubber gloves and eye covering, wash off with water if you get on skin.] When I removed the towels in the morning the blood was gone. Big job but it worked. been there done that. Skullery {skull cleaning service} Jeff from northern wisconsin.
good advice, was good to see you at the show last month . John Mallien
I am facing the same situation and was going to try pressure washing with a small amt. of soap. Any one tried this?
get two 45 to 55 gal trash cans. set one antler in each can. fill with
water. You can try using some of the blood release products, Ive never
used them but maybe someone can shed some light on that. I primarily
use lysol or some other dissenfectant in the water for the first
soak to cut the smell. The smell is actually caused by the blood.
I usually don't get all the blood out during the soak. After soaking
for several hours, I rinse and let them dry a day or two. then I soak
them in peroxide, I get my at wal-mart. I DON'T USE 100 Gal. usually
1 or 2 gals will be enough, I use a smaller elongated container and soak
portions of the rack using old rags as a wick. It will get rid of some
of the stain, but can take some time for the really early racks. the
rack I'm working on was hung upside down with the velvet on and most of the
blood ran into the top 2 longest points and part of the upper palms so my
problem areas are localized. I will be sending these antlers to research
mannikins for re-velveting, but needed to get the "Smell" out of them first.