Antlers fading??

The coloring on the antlers is ground in tree bark, sap, tree resins, dirt and other things picked up by the deer in it's travels. Some of that can come off during maceration and degreasing. Restaining is not terribly hard and there are several really good posts on here how to do it and what to use. Try a couple of practice ones first on some junk antler if you have any. It's not hard to take a set of white, weathered antlers or even a set that has been hit with peroxide and make them look great.

 

Thanks, I was about to ask the same question..

 

if you are really paranoid about changing the color, you can cover the antlers before. you can either use several coats of latex mold compound or a silicone product called seal n peel which works very well.

 

Yes. Leave it on during maceration and degreasing. Whitening too if you want. Make sure you get a good coating on from the burrs up to above the waterline on the antlers. It will all peel off when you are done. Use the "Advanced Search" on here to look for tutorials on staining antler. It really isn't hard and the stains are readily available.

 

I totally agree with the above. The main reason the antlers are darker in the area closer to the burs are the accumulation of sap and debris from the deer making rubs throughout their range. It only makes sense that soaking in water. especially soapy water, will remove some of the build up.

I tried to prevent this by using silicone or seal & peal but IMO, the prevention efforts were more trouble than they were worth. I just touch them up after whitening.

As Sea Wolf has said, there are a number of ways to re-stain them and it is not really that difficult once you practice a little. I find that it is much easier to re-stain than trying to prevent the change that occurs during the process.

 

Iam a rookie when it comes to this stuff, but I have been able to recolor bases and sun faded antlers pretty well. I use acrylic umber and raw umber. I cut it with Windex and use a Q tip. you can match it unbelievably well. very realistic and nobody can tell. I have taken antlers that I have done this with and had people try to guess which one I touched up and which one was all natural and usually they are not sure which one was painted. Its that good and easy to do.

 

Windex? Never thought to thin the paint for antlers with that. I have used it in an airbrush for somewhat the same use.