I had a guy drop by the shop last night with a treasure he had picked up at a garage sale. It was black bear rug about 6' n-t, good fur and bought for $80.00. The felt was pulling off in a few spots and it had some holes in it. He wanted a quote on repairs so I started digging into it a little bit. But as I examined the holes by pulling them apart, or sticking my finger in them my fingers got something that appeared to be gummy Liquidtan on them. Also the rug felt "damp" almost like it had been left in a basement. The more I looked at it, the more damage I discovered like all the stiching was pulling through and the entire hide appeared to be disintergrating in gummy clumps. In fact the "gum" had leached through the dermis and stained the base of some of hair from black to a rich brown. It wasn't the natural color of the hair as a few inches in any direction from the stained areas would appear normal. He wanted to rip off the backing, repad it, refelt it and try to sell it. I told him that if he took the backing off, he may end up with just pieces of hide. I know you can vulcanize old rugs, in fact I wholesaled one out a few years ago. But what would cause the gummy wet condition of the hide. Ive handled hundreds of rugs, both my own work and that of others, Ive seen dry rot, pet damage, vaccum abuse, kid damage, but never this. Any thoughts? I should mention the rug was about 20 years old and mounted in Canada.
Hugh
www.initaxidermy.com
Return to Tanning Category Menu
I have never herd of vulcanize a old rug. Can anyone give me some info. on what that is and of anyone that does that. I did check the search button with no real info. Thank's.
I have perfected a system for vulcanizing old rugs and have been restoring them for 18 years. E-mail me if you are in need of my services.