Denatured Alcohol to mount a Fox

It could work for any mammal but as far as using it for a medium or large one.I would suggest actually tanning.Then it would be easier to fix things.I think I have read before that it is technically a pickle somewhere.I have heard also that some people also use DP when they use alcohol also.

 

I'm not sure of this I have never tried to remount an animal that was soaked in denatured alcohol.I would just tan the fox.I know that you would just rehydrate the area if it was tanned and fix it.But I'm not sure of D,A.

 

Denatured alcohol (DA) is nothing more than poisoned ethanol. Several chemicals are used to "denature" the ethanol, but all make it poison for consumption.

DA works by "fixing" a hide. It has astringent qualities that lock in the hair. It CAN be used on fox and bobcat sized animals, but if I weren't tanning, I'd use Stop Rot instead. Spraying Stop Rot liberally on a hide (both sides before and after fleshing) and then using dry preservative (DP) tends to work extremely well.

 

Here is questions I have on the above chats:

1. What is Pro's and cons of Dry preserved skins versus tanned skins. I am speaking specifically of Life size mounts.

2. are there certain animals that you would say to absolutely not dry preserve or that you would say MUST be tanned. ( Fox-Coon-Squirrell-Deer-Coyote)

 

i did it with the only fox i mounted until now, it worked well, but you need something like 4 liters of alcohol to cover the skin well...,after skin it i washed the skin well with a Dawn type of soap, rinsed it and dried it with a towel, put it in a container and shake it to make sure alcohol penetrates every inch of the skin, then leave it inside, i left it for 3 days, after the first day, remains of fatty tissue in the skin can be defleshed much easier(same as after salting), after take it out i let it dry partially and then rubbed DP on it, it didn´t lose a single hair and it dried really fast, bad point is the alcohol is a bit expensive and you need a lot , i do the same with squirrels but leave them in the bath just overnight

 

It is not good for your health to handle a skin soaked in DA for long periods of time. Inhaling the fumes is another no no. God gave you one, and only one liver. You are using it up fast when improperly handling products such as DA. DP, Stop Rot plus DP, or tanning the skin are much safer options.

 

i thought ethanol (clinical alcohol)was not so harmish for health as methanol is ?!? am i wrong then?

 

Read the label on the side of the can.

 

I say it because of that,here methanol is labelled as poisonous by drinking, inhaling or dermical contact on the other hand clinical alcohol (ethanol) says nothing about, i thought aditives are added to make it taste bitter and not having people drinking it for a cheaper price than supermarket vodka, maybe there are some other DA types around which could be more dangerous for health, i ignore it, i have always used medical ethanol not other made for different goals

 

It's "bitter" all right. To the point of killing you if you drink it. As Joey says, it gets to your liver the same way, but then people who drink a lot are more prone to cirrhosis of the LIVER anyway.

As for the other question, I would not use DP on anything larger than a coyote. Sam Touchstone always bragged that his Bess Maid was good for anything from mice to moose, but I'm sure drumming HAD to be a issue with thicker skins.

 

i have always put small things in it, like squirrels or deer and boar feet intended for racks,feet are easier to handle than tanned, just skin them, left them in for 3 days or so and then a bit of DP and mount then , much easier to sew without the need to shave them and avoid anyhair loss, but of course a feet work has nothing to do with a head mount, i made a roe deerk head with a lcohol once too, it looked horrible due to my poor skills but i think a good taxidermist could have done a good work, i agree with thicker skins, they would shrink and twist much more