I bought a black bear rug last year. Now the skin is beginning to crack and big pieces of fur are dislodging at a touch. What can I do to repair and save it?
Thanks for your advice.
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Your rug is most likely quite old, dating back to the 60's or before. it needs to have the back taken off and a layer of fabric(I like to use denim) glued to the skin side to hold it together. This has to be done very carefully as the skin is most likely in a very fragile condition. Unfortunatly it is not a home project and it usually is expensive. The cost will most likely exceed the value of a black bear rug.
The problem is dry rot or possibly acid rot, caused by improper neutralizing during the tanning process.