Used a commercial tanner in Texas for a number of years....and they always sawdust drummed the hides before returning wet.
Used a local taxidermist who tanned my hides for a year....and he did the same. Really liked his work. Saved me a lot of shipping.
He went out of business....soooo....back to Texas I go.
They returned my hides in 40 days.....wet....no sawdust drumming.
I called them about it and they said.....most taxidermist are requesting this now....because they don't want the sawdust on the form and the hides are easier to slip on the form.
They said....just wipe it down with a sponge and brush.
Well....I did a half mount black bear today. I did what they said. And so far....I ain't happy!....and myself and the customer got a lot of money wrapped up in this mount.
The hair side is flat......not bushy like a bear I did earlier this year.....and certainly not as soft. It is also still damp.
It's too late for me to do anything about it now. I would imagine on a deer this would be fine as their hair lays flat.
What can I expect? Will it dry out completely? How is it going to dry? When it dries.....will it brush out better?
I just don't know what to expect.
Thanks for any help.
Also...any truth to this that more taxidermist are shunning the sawdust drying?
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i mount them wet and blowdry it after it;s mounted.
If they did a wet tan and there may be oils left on the hair no big deal. Now you have some extra work here, Take the mounted bear outside (by itself) wet it down with a hose and then give it a good shampoo. I would do it twice and rinse well. Next is to take a few towels and wipe down the excess water. After that just take your air compressor and blow dry the bear. It will fluff up like no other hide you worked on.
Now all my bear hides are tumbled and yet I still wash them before I mount them. Unlike you I'm able to do it before the mounting process and thou I have done it many times in the past and will have to do it in the future is to wash a mounted animal.
They should always be drummed in sawdust with an additive that removes the excess oils and any tanning oil in the fur.Then they should be cage drummed,which removes most of the sawdust.The hair would be fluffy and the leather part still damp.
I sent 25 deer capes to Carolina Fur Dressing this last season,for wet tanning. They came back clean of oils on the fur and no residual on the skin.I don't know if they were drummed and caged,there was no sawdust residue period,so there could be an alternate way used,but the fur/hair should not have any oils in it.The skins I sent to East Coast Tannery for wet tan were also clean,and these included a wolf lifesize. I recommend both of these tanners highly.
Danny, Some good suggestions but I would do it a little differently. I would back brush the mount, get the hair standing up all over. Don't worry what it looks like. After the mount dries for a week or two THEN wet the fur down and wash with a good shampoo. By letting the mount dry first the skin will not take on as much water
. After you rinse it well shoot it with your compressor hose to remove most water, then blow dry the whole bear and you will have that shinny fluffy look you are after. I do this on all my lifesize mounts and it makes them look great. Roger Martin gets the credit for this idea- do it this time and you likely will do it from now on. Enjoy, Aaron H.