An easy, economical and profitable quick fix for a short cut brisket

This is a quick tutorial on how I deal with short cut capes. This may help you, it may not...... but hopefully it does

Let me preface this post by saying 2 things. One is that I'm doing it from my iPhone so let me apologize in advance for any typos.... second is that you do not have to use foam, you can use straight rock mix without adding too much weight.... but in this cool sticky weather I chose to go with the foam because a thin later will dry quicker and the customer is picking this up tomorrow! LOL. Many of you may prefer the foam because of the weight, myself, I do not mind the extra weight.

A few particulars, this add on cost about $12 because of the name plate. Other wise with straight mix minus the foam and plate your looking at about $2-$3, with foam minus plate it cost about $6. As stated, this whole project cost me about $12 and I'm charging the customer $75 extra. It takes me about an hour combined time to put together, that include gathering up supplies. A normal person or should I say a person newly doing it, give yourself about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, you may want to consider that when giving your customer a quote.

This simple idea works, and it sells. Many people want their original cape and it's a (in most cases) less expensive alternative to buying a replacement cape.


I've seen a lot of questions about this subject on here lately so I hope this gives a few of you the easy option you have been looking for.

Here we go

I start by test fitting my cape and seeing just what is cut/screwed up so I can imagine a direction for the cover up as I mount my deer....



Rough up the form as you would normally do and apply hide paste normally also....




Mount your deer, adjust your brisket and let dry...




After it's dry enough to finish re-rough a little bit...


Stick on a back board and build a dam made out of very wet potters clay....




Stick your head in the hole of the backboard...


I keep some foam scraps in a box for little jobs like this...


Mix up a all amount of foam and when it starts to kick pour it in the dam....





Place some of the little scraps of foam in where you poured the foam in no particular order. Just do it randomly for the best effect.... if you plan it, it will look planned, if you throw'em in it will work LOL


Spray the rising foam with lacquer thinner.... this will stop the foam from forming a skin so you do not have to sand it before applying the rock mix..... huge time and dust saver!


This is where you will be...


Peel off your dam before the foam hardens and spray the outer portion with lacquer thinner also...


Carve foam residue off the top of the clay and put back in bag to reuse



Remove backboard, look at it right side up and make any changes you want....


This is where you will be, you can use a hairdryer if you want to get the foam harder quicker as the laquer will keep it softer than normal for a short time and remain moist.






Now the real fun begins!

You will need 2 name plates. One a blank to use as your tool and also a nice one with whatever script you choose.


Go and mix you up a mixture of 60% vermiculite and 40% plaster and a handful of dextrine. I always mix up way to much, but you're looking at a max of $2 in material.... if that




I put a little white and black tempra and then make it a pretty thin mix....




Dampen the foam and start spreading the mix

*I use windex in this step. Water saturates, windex evaporates.... it WILL dry faster using windex as a smoother.
**Also, don't worry about getting the mix in the hide, it comes off VERY easy from the hair.






Add a little extra to the top (which is actually the bottom) so you will have an area to recess the name plate. A recessed name plate looks much better and custom than one simply glued on the surface.




Take your blank and make a 1/2" depression into the mix..... be sure your head is pretty level so when you 180* it won't be all crooked






Hit it with a hairdryer if the air is damp and get the mix a little dry.... but not too dry...


Take a paint brush and a little windex and clean/smooth the area around the plate so you make a smooth pull.




Use a thin sharp tip to pull the blank plate out.... in my case I use an upholstery needle


And you have your slot for the good plate


Now the mix that got on the hair should be hazed enough to remove with a brush.....




Smooth your rock out a tad with windex and a brush


Mix a little brown and white (not mixed together, if you look, they are separate in the cup) and just dab it here and there.


This is where you'll be, the mix is firm but still moist/tacky


You can blend a little more if you like....


Now take peat moss and douse the rock with it....




Take a brush and start brushing the peat off in sections....




Take a slightly damp sponge or paper towel and highlight the tops




Now take your good name plate snd glue it in....




This is where you'll be at the end, tomorrow morning I'll airbrush the deer for finishing work and highlight the rock at the same time.....




I'll post a pic of the finished product after lunch tomorrow.... hope this helps somebody.

Michael P.





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