Looked through everything the ORANGE BUTTON had on tanning coons, and it still feels greasy. I fleshed, salted, degreased with Tannery Degreaser then pickled. I removed it from the pickle and shaved and degreased again, and it still feels greasy. Anybody have any suggestions, is this normal? Thanks
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No it's not normal - but try this!
Take it out of the pickle and drain it for about 1 hour. Squeeze it to remove as much as possible before doing this. Then in a 5 gallon pail mix about 5 lbs. of sawdust and some Lacquer Thinner (do this outdoors). Dampen the sawdust dont make it soggy. After mixing it - put it in a black plastic garbage bag. Bounce it a little to mix it up - then place the coon skin in. Tie it off and bounce it in your hands for 5 minutes.
Remove the coonskin - blow it off and put it back in the pickle at least overnight or until you want to tan it.
Worst case scenario - a little sawdust - but its inert and wont cause any problems. THIS WILL WORK! Just dont leave it in the bag after bouncing it around.
Pat ,try using mineral spirits next time.It's cheaper and my own personal experience,I think it works better than most of the degreasers on the market.I usually let it set in the skin for about 30-45 minutes,then wash off and go to the pickle,it works really good for those really greasy birds too.
Flammable liguid solvents DO NOT DEGREASE, they DISSOLVE grease that only stains down the road. Bruce's method is an old one that WILL work because the sawdust will absorb the grease and the solvent (lacquer thinner). The ONLY THING THAT DEGREASES IS SOAP. PERIOD.
place the saw dust or grit mixture in a plastic garbage bag, times three. then bounce it in you dryer with an old tennis shoe or catchers mit. this saves muscle and time and keeps everything easy to clean up. also- never use dawn on the fur side of a hide. it has a bleaching agent in it and will dull your mount.
We have recently tried fleshing our coons with a pressure washer and it sure seems to help with the degreasing end of things. We too use the sawdust and soap...my point is the quick and easy method with a pressure washer seems to help a bunch.