I tanned a couple of antelope skins with EZ 100 last year.They wouldn't soften completly,came up with hard spots in both.Two questions.Can that be reversed in any way?and,what might have gone wrong? I think I did all the steps right,though looking over the forum,the tanning temps might have been too cold.I am no expert by any means.
thanks
Myrna
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It sounds like surface tan to me. If you cut into the hard spots do you see a brown line under the skin. You may not have gotten all the membrane off.
Two things about EZ-100. If you place an acidic skin 3.5 or below into the tanning solution - it immediately bonds to the surface and prevents further penetration. That's a surface tan.
If you put a skin in the tanning solution that is 4.5-5.0 - this ideal. However if its much higher - say a 5.5 to 6.0 or more the bonding slows down and when you take it out the tan may not be complete. Some spots will be "boardy".
As for temps - it's always best to tan at 60-80 degrees. Lower temps will also slow down the bonding. And below 55 degrees - you will get an incomplete tan. Even at 55-60 you get mixed results.
Myrna, LISTEN to Bruce, He invented the EZ-100 recipie! Great guy w/ a wealth of information!
Thank you so much for the help.I liked the basic results (ie,the places where it tanned right)but was very discouraged by the other.Maybe I can get one right,now.
is there any way to recover the skins that I did now?One other thing about them was that the grain peeled off.
Hi! Are you tanning leather or hair on? Also I need to know if when you refer to the "grain" - do you mean the surface below the epidermis or something else?
You can also e-mail me at: Rittel@mindspring.com