I have tanned some capes for myself this past year. I am pretty happy with the method I have chosen. My question is- once a cape is tanned and sweated in the oil for the proper amount of time is it possible to rinse the cape too much and wash away the oil in the skin? I have been rinsing only very briefly, and I am having some problems with having some problems getting the cape to grab and take a good set on the form.(excess oil) Will the oil that is imbedded in the skin come back out or not? Thanks for anyones advice!
Apparantly you are having troubles with the oil preventing good adhesion? Is this correct? If so, rather than rinsing it, you might try rubbing the flesh with a solvent soaked rag to remove any excess surface film, or simply place it in a garbage bag with sawdust and solvent, and after tieing it off, bounce it around for 5-10 minutes. Then blow it off. I like the sawdust method. Depending on the oil you use, if its a good tanning oil, it will be charged and not come out of the skin. It tends to bond inside. However, if you are using something not intended for tanning like like plain neatsfoot oil, or other uncharged oil, it likely will not even penetrate but tends to simply lie on the surface, and causes problems.