On my deer capes I have always either; Applied tanning oil to cape and mounted next day or then froze cape and mounted at a later date.
This time I wanted let oil dry 4-6 days then rehydrate , shave and either mount next day or freeze. My Question is what should I rehydrate or Relax cape in if I do not have any of the relaxer chemicals I have seen recommended in articles, or do I have To use these, the ones I have seen recommended are kemal-4 by Coombs and Cape Prep by Sallie Dahmes.
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You can use 1/4 lb of salt to each gallon of water and soak until it is rehydrated, you can use 2 oz of Kemal 4 for 5 gallons of water. The best would be to use the Relax R if you did have it, the same 2 oz for every 5 gallons of water.
It's safe - and works for all tanned capes or skins!
This method is called the Universal method because it works on almost every tanned skin or cape safely. It takes the guesswork out of properly relaxing a skin or cape before mounting, but more importantly, it also prevents acid swelling. Bacteriacide is not needed for this method.
1. Soak the tanned skin or cape for 30 minutes in a mild salt solution using:
To every 1 Gallon of Water used, add a
Handful of Salt (4 Ozs. by weight).
2. Remove the skin or cape from the solution soaking wet, and place it in a plastic garbage bag. Use a tie to twist it shut, and then refrigerate it overnight. Do not freeze.
3. The next day, remove the skin or cape, and prep it before mounting.