I have a boar with alot of grease still in it. I read the archives on what kind of solution to use and I'm going to purchase it. But what if I skipped that step and went straight on to mounting, what would be the consequences? Also would I need to do the step with the oil?
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David, Degreasing is a basic step in the mounting of all critters that have oily skins and a boar is definitly in this group. The oil that is left in a cape and mounted will "leak" oil through the skin for years. The oil will attract flies and have a smell sort of like a pig. When you work with hogs you will certainly notice that they have an odor. You must clean the skin completly to insure a decent mount for many years to come. As for leaving in the natural pig oil and skipping the oiling stage after tanning all I can say is I doubt you will acheive much of a tan if you don't degrease as the pickle and tanning will not completely penetrate the skin against the grease. There are many things in taxidermy that can be done in different ways and I encourage experimenting but degreasing is not a step to skip on greasy skins. Enjoy, Aaron H.
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