i've got a bear that a customer brought in for repair. it's got slippage in the face and has bare spots on the sides of the muzzle. he wants me to try and glue hair from another bear on the muzzle then cut it to try and make it look a little better. what type of glue should i try to use? i've tried 5 min. epoxy, elmer's and netiher worked very good. any help would be appreciated.
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Repairs
This response submitted by George Roof on 10/20/99. ( georoof@aol.com ) 152.163.188.36
Mark,
Of course these guys are right in what SHOULD have been done, but that's by the board. I've been there before and with epoxy, you ain't moving the hide when the glue dries. Here's what I did and I seemed to look good enough to pass.
I let the hide dry completely. Then I took masking tape and taped the hair closest to the nose that was un-cut, forward out of the way. Then I took RTV Clear and painted a fine film from behind the tape to the end of the scar. Then I went to the back of the mount and found a color phase hair similar to the cut ones. I cut a small lock of them and then laid them at the rear of the scar with their "roots" into the RTV. I worked forward in layers until I got to the tape. Then I removed the tape and let these hairs fall back down in place over the repairs. While the RTV is still wet, you can slide hair backwards and forwards until their tips match. I once repaired a drag mark the size of my palm using this method. If the other ways fail, give this a try.
If it is around the muzzle. The hair is short, and almost stands up. this hair can be repaired by using flock. Before the adhesive dries use a soft paint brush to lay the hair as necessary. then blend the black, and brown of the muzzle with Mar hide in your air brush. I have done a few this way, and it was very difficult to tell they had been repaired.