Hi, I bought a fox fur in Germany and it is a little dirty. How do I go about cleaning it and making it brighter? Thanks all, Chris
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
Is it a pelt, a coat, a taxidermy mount, a hat, etc?
The way you clean it, depends on what form it is in, and how old it is, and how good of condition it is. I've had good results cleaning up to 110 year old furs, provided that they were -garments- or pelts, not taxidermy mounts.
It is a tanned pelt not mounted I am sorry I did not post it on here before.
Oh, that's easy! A tanned pelt is basically the same thing you see on a fur coat, but without all of the letting-out seams.
So to clean it, you grasp it by the butt - NOT the tail!, and run a rag which is well saturated with cleaning solution, over the pelt, from butt to head.
Do not wet the pelt, or immerse the pelt in any sort of water or wet solution. Unless you like having the pelts disintegrate on you. An age unknown fox pelt is quite bound to be dry rotting, so .. this is a very real risk.
Do not actually "scrub" because you will break guard hairs - what you want to do is use long, straight strokes from butt to head, so you don't break any guard hairs or mat (tangle) the underfur.
Do this for maybe a good 5 minute scrub per side, on both sides - belly and back. When you are done, the pelt will NOT be wet (as furrier cleaning solutions are generally non-aqueous), but it will be clean.
After the cleaning process, you may wish to groom the pelt. If the pelt is any older than about 5 years, I would recommend you NOT groom it. Since this is a fox pelt, you will want to be very gentle on the shoulders, butt, sides, and lower belly, as the leather is very easy to rip in these areas.
Or I can clean it for you. :)
Thanks so very much for your information, you do not know how much I appreciate it. This will help me out alot. Chris
I just bought a mink coat for $10.00. I want to turn it into a pillow. What cleaning solution do you recommend for Chris and what type of thread should I use to sew mink with?
Thanks,
Betty
About two years ago a friend of mine gave me a Pony Hide. It's very beautiful, but now, it's very dirty. I have it draped over a chair. Nobody sits there so it gets very little use.
How do I clean this fur...we are all smokers here. The whites are no longer white.
I have no idea how old this fur is...seems it floated around his cottage in Upper Michigan for many years...everybody had it at one time or another and it finally came back to him..and he gave it to me.
The leather is about 1/2 inch thick and dry. I've been afraid to put any softening agent on it for fear it may transfer to the fabric chair it calls home.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
MisisD
I'm interested in the response to Betty's question of how you clean a mink, which I also want to turn into a pillow. I've heard cornstarch, sawdust, but can't seem to get the answer.
Thanks
J
I have blue fox fur coat in need of cleaning. Is there a way to cleaning it without sending it to a cleaner.