I just finished up mounting an elk and the cape still feels, for a lack of words, grimy. I bought the cape wet tanned. The person I bought it from said he used Lutan F, I believe. All the capes I usually use are dry tanned so I usually don't have this problem. I washed the cape once and it felt pretty good but now that it is drying it has that sticky feeling. Is there anything I can do to get rid of that feeling? Thanks, Todd
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Todd, I don't usually do this on elk but twice I have washed elk capes just after mounting for the same reason. I put the elk on mounting stands outside, sprayed them well with a hose and applied shampoo. I lathered them up, rinsed till there was no suds and then blew them off with my compressor. A bit of toweling followed by a hair dryer just to fluff up the manes and then a couple of days later they were dry and also smelled like honeysuckle (shampoo fragrance). Enjoy, Aaron H.
I searched for you:
Does wet tan leaves hair sticky?
Submitted by Linda on 2/2/05 at 10:35 AM. ( ) 205.181.102.85
We sent 3 lifesize Black bear hides to be wet tanned for the 1st time ever? They came back in 3-4 months and All seemed to be well while we've put 2 of the hides on the forms - lots of stretch and they seemed just fine... They are dry now and they stunk like wet leather for the 1st week and the hair is still kinda sticky not soft and fluffy like they have been with the dry tan in the past? Anybody ever experienced that? The wet leather tan finally went away - what can you do for the sticky hair - just not fluffy.... very dissappointed in the final results ( one of those hides are mine !)
Whats the secret?
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wet tann
This response submitted by mike d on 2/2/05 at 11:11 AM. ( ) 68.116.64.111
Evidently your tannery did not tumble the hides enough to clean the tanning oil out of the hair.
If you continue to use this tannery, I would let them know the problem!
You can tumble the skins for a while with sawdust that contains mineral spirits if they have not been mounted; if they are mounted let them dry completely and then shampoo them; dry with towels and place under a fan to speed the final drying.
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Wet Tan
This response submitted by Mark on 2/2/05 at 12:31 PM. ( markstaxidermy@aol ) 205.188.116.130
Hi Linda, Did you wash the hide before mounting? I have found that a wet tan needs to be washed before mounting. this will get the tanning oils out of the hair and give you the nice full soft look you want.
this is esspecially true with fine hair animals such as bobcats etc.
Best regards
Mark
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Wet tans aren't tumbled
This response submitted by George on 2/2/05 at 12:58 PM. ( georoof@aol.com ) 152.163.100.74
That's why they're "wet". As Mark said, you're expected to wash your cape before mounting to get the residual oils off.
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Pert Plus
This response submitted by Mike G. on 2/2/05 at 1:02 PM. ( ) 12.32.34.61
A little bit has worked very well for me.
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Looks like I'll have to give him a wash. BG, believe me ...I did search.. I've learned. LOL Must not have typed the right phrase. Thanks again