i recently mounted a caribou for a customer. when he picked it up, he brought the other set of antlers. they were outside and are weathered. he wants them on the wall. my question is, what are my options? i tried antler stain from the catalog and wasnt crazy about the color. can they be airbrushed? or can regular wood stain be used?
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Click the orange SEARCH icon to the left and type in "staining antlers". There are 126 postings just like yours with various methods listed. Personally, I'd type in "potassium permanganate" and you'll find that this is the only product that will continuously work on any antler.
Ryan, go to your local hardware store and pick out a color of stain you like. The stain can be water or oil based, it doesn't really matter. I use a combination of a salem maple and walnut. The maple gives the redish brown tint common on WT here in Minnesota. I use the walnut sparringly around the bases. After the stain drys, use some 000 steel wool to polish the tips to your liking and finish the project off with a very light coat of spray finish (don't use gloss).
You can airbrush the antlers and get some pretty respectable results. The only problem is that from a distance the antlers look really good, but close up, its pretty easy to tell that they have been painted.
Good Luck!
i just use laquer paints. mix rich brown with a little white to lighten the brown up. then i use steel wool to give it that real look. works good for me. try it out.
Use a saddle stain from the local tack or leather shop. I too used those stains from the catalogs and they suck!, I started using the saddle stain and know I have many more happy customers. Good Luck!, Mike
I buried a skull, to do a european mount, and while in the sun the antlers turned a shade of white. Im a begginer so I would like to know a quick easy fix. the antlers are still in good condition, no bonding needed, just a little color. And what is "potassium permanganate"? Anything would help?