Searched the archives without much luck. I recently purchased Wesco hide paste, and plan to use it on a large brown bear mount tomorrow. I haven't used it before, and wondered if any of you've had experience with "working" time? The package only said drying time varies with hide thickness, humidiy, etc. (duuuhhh). I don't want to use it if it's going to set up too fast. I tend to be a little slow on full body bear mounts because I'm a nitpicker in my work and spend a lot of time taxiing the skin around. Any experiences would be appreciated...
Thanks,
Dave
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
Hi Dave,
I've done many full sized bear mounts and understand your situation.
What works for me may not work for you but I can tell you how I have gotten through this.The face is the most critical area.I use a
generous amount on the face,then moisten the hide and tightly wrap a
plastic bag around it.This can keep the paste from hardening.
On the body I dont get as generous with the paste,only in possible drumming areas.Inject cold water and baking soda with a hypo-needle
when skin is on in those areas to keep paste moist.This gives me
more quality time,and you can also cover body with plastic. Mike
Spreading a little on a piece of cardboard in different thicknesses, and check back ever so often to see how quick it sets. Then figure in that it will be under a moist skin, and pretty much tripke the set up time out in the open on your practice sheet, and you should come pretty close to expected set-up time.
I have used it and it is pretty much a typical dextrine based glue. You can, and maybe should add water, if your humidity is low. I don't think that testing it on cardboard would tell you much, the cardboard will suck the water out of it and give you a very misleading result. There are much better glues out there, but if I were in a pinch, I would still use the Wesco glue without worrying about it doing the job.
I've used WASCO hide paste on a few things...just for fish now. One problem you might want to watch out for is this. I used to have some problems with it molding some in a real humid enviroment. After i started tumbling all my larger hide and capes to remove excess moisture this didn't happen anymore. Other than that it seemed to work ok! I've switched to buckeye supreme a few years back and it seems to hold a little better on mammals than WASCO paste. Love it for fish though! Good luck
Thanks for all the tips! I'll press on with the Wesco for the body, and use my Buckeye Supreme for the face...
Dave