I recieved a commercially tanned mountain lion hide from a guy that want'ed a full body mount. the guy killed the lion about 10 years ago and had it tanned at that time. It sat in a corner in his bed room for years. Then he brought it to me. I have done half a dozen lion mount in the past and they all turned out great,but I also tanned then my self with lu-tan-F.
When I went to rehydrate this hide (in 5 gallons of water and 4oz. of salt) the hide was only in the water for 3 or 4 minutes and I reached in to stir it and it fell apart in my hand like a wet paper towel. The whole thing was disinagrating in my hands before I could get it out.Like I said it's like a wet paper towel falling apart. Agine " WHAT THE HELL DID I DO WRONG "it frustrating.
Please help!
Return to Tanning Category Menu
It's called "Acid Rot". This is why I don't care for alum tans! The only thing you could have done different is to add a bit more salt. I like to add 4oz per gal. Joe
it was that far along and falling apart that easily I don't even think the extra salt would have helped. I got a bobcat like that and it was worthless from the get go.
Dry tanned hides need to be used up or rehydrated within a year or so. They usually fall apart after a couple years of storage while dry.....especially 10 yrs. Unfortunately this error (in attempting to rehydrate it) is one that you can chalk up to "experience".
in my opinion it could be acid rot from not being neutralized properly
and time will give us all better ansewrs down the road
but its hard to make blanket statements without knowing exactly
what the person did years ago
ive got a alum mount that is quite old
it still looks as good as new
i live in southern loisiana
now i suppose it may fall apart latter on but it sure looks as ugly as the day i mounted it all those years ago
i suspest the whole process needs some light put on it when using alum.
the salting,pickling,washing correctly,neutralizing,and correct oiling
just my opinion
anyway i read once that Glen will probably come out with something soon that will make the tanning thing all haywire
i know the stop rot is close
paul e
so many tanneries do not neutralize the acid from the skin.
Dean after reading the first two lines I already know what happened.
When you get any skin that you did not tan , be very cautious.
Tell the client ,this is what could happen.Next time take the corner or edge of the skin and try wetting it. I would not even waste my time on something like that.