I bought some of rittles super solvent degreaser and used it on some beaver and raccoon, i also had a few other skins that i figured i would just throw in to degrease even though they werent greasy, i mixed it just like rittle told me and left them in for 30 min. when i came back the beaver and the raccoon were clean and not greasy but the other skins were like jello and about a third of the size they were when i put them in, they also lost all of their stretch and were slipping. maybe someone has had a similar problem, im not blaming the super solvent maybe i shouldnt have put the nongreasy skins in, but i didnt think it would hurt anything.
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Were the skins raw? Pickled? Tanned? All of them?
Obviously this situation is unusual using Super Solvent, so knowing more about the state of the skins (or capes) would help second guess what may have went wrong.
they were pickled with saftee acid before putting them into the solvent
Did you use warm or hot water in the degreaser? Any salt?
I had that happen to me a couple times:
--- 13-lined ground squirrels being rinsed in plain warm water after degreasing. The skins are ruined. Potato chip consistency.
--- Fox after tanning, being rinsed in plain hot water. The butts were damaged, they would tear easily like with dry rot, but I sent them to the customer anyway, they were not for mounting.
In the squirrel lot, all skins went south. In the fox lot, only small parts of select skins went south.
It's not the degreaser. I don't use that degreaser. I've had that happen though.
i used warm water in the degreaser without salt but i dont think the instuctions called for it, they were chipmunks twenty of them, and all of them are pretty much trash.
It was the water and the lack of salt. It's called acid swell. Same effect as dry rot but on brand new skins. It sucks!
Earl I wouldn't have put chipmunks in the degreaser, not necessary. I just wash something like that in soapy water, dawn w/ just a "smidge" of bleach (anti-bacterial purposes) and water that's not exactly warm.
I personally think the time they were in the warm water did it. I use super solvent on alot of different hides & never had that problem. Any hide that has fine hair (squirrels, fawn, etc.) or would be prone to slip (fox, coyote, etc.), shouldn't be in hot or even warm water very long, if at all. Good soapy tempid water will clean them if they were fleshed good.
well i guess its good i learned this but i wish it would have been at someone elses expense lol, i figured the warm water would allow the grease to come out of the skins easier, i usually just wash my small skins with a little dawn. thanks for the help
Leave them no longer then the directions say, then dump them into a clean salt saturate solution, and they snap right out of it.