I'am about to rehydrate some deer capes that have been double salted and dried hard. My questions are
1) can I leave the capes in a rehydration solution overnight (8-10 hours)?
2) what is the best rehydration solution to use (I want to do them tonight therefore won't have time to buy anything not already in my shop)?
3) I will be pickling with Saf-t-acid, do I need do anything special between rehydration bath and pickle other than rinse in plain water?
thanks for your help.
1) I would not recommend rehydrating overnight. This will cause bacteria growth. Your capes should rehyrate in an one or two. I use Kemal 4 in my rehydrating solution. Your can rehdrate with water only (just takes longer). If you use a rehdrating solution, Remember to wash it out good. If you don't, you will have problems keeping your pH down. If you have a bacteriacide, throw some of that in the rehydraytion too. Bacteria growth causes hair slippage. After the rehydration and the cape is rinsed well, just but cape in pickle. Keep pH at around 1 with safetee acid. Read directions. Be sure to check pH and stir pickle everyday. You may have to add a little acid everyday to keep the pH down. You do not need to put a bactericade in the pickle. Bacteria can not grow in a pH below 2.
It can be done. Add some bactericide in your bath and you should be fine. Most hides do not rehydrate in two hours. You can find a bunch load of info in the archives. Bruce Rittel has many posts on rehydrating skins.