I have mounted many deer with great results using citric acid tan. I am now trying to tan a black bear hide for a rug.I fleshed the hide and salted for four days and then pickeled the hide using citric acid, neutralized it and final fleshed it. It is now back in my freezer. My question is there was so much fatty oil in the skin after pickeling did I do somthing wrong or is this normal.Should I continue the process or start over? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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i degrease after the final shaving. i also leave the skin acidfied if i am going to store it in a freezer. thaws very quickly that way.
i only neutralize just before tanning. loose fewer bear this way and seldom have any slipping.
Bears are super greasy. After pickeling you needed to degrease with a heavy duty degreaser. This is why I send all my bears out for tanning. I'm not sure what you should do now, place back in pickel or try to degrease now. Maybe Bruce or others can give better advice. Either way you will have a stinking, grease mess on your hands if its not cleaned up.