Question for all you expert tanners out there. Sent a New Mexico Oryx hide out to a tannery and just got it back. Hate to steal a line from a popular laundry detergent commercial but the whites are not the whitest.... There are several white areas on the face that have a tannish discoloration. These definitely were not on the original animal. Has anyone ran into this before? Is it an issue with the chemicals, I was assured that all of the africans were run separately... Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
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They could be just tanning oil spots where the oil was more concentrated or if they tumbled the hide in saw dust it could be discoloration from that or a combo of both. Did you flesh the hide completely before sending it out? If there was any membrane left on the hide the membrane will just stay behind and will appear discolored. Are the spots stiff or are they softer than the rest of the hide. Often times a tannery will not go to the extra trouble to make sure the membrane is removed before tanning. Many only tan the hides and they do not do any prep for that is the taxidermists job in many cases. I hope this helps.