some questions about using dry preservative

I had huge allergic reactions both lung and skin, with tanned hides. Turned out to be the tumbling medium I was allergic to.

When I used DP, I fleshed/ thinned the hide on a beam and then I washed the skin well in Kemal-4. Then I soaked them in DP and water for 20 min. Dried the skin and then DP rubbed into the skin.

I would use Stop Rot in conjunction with the DP. Use your round knife to flesh and thin just like you would a pickled skin. I have fleshed a raw skin with the round knife, but have never thinned with it on an unpickled skin, others have with success.

George, JoeyM. and MichaelPas well as others all use DP in one form or another with great success. You can too.

They make deodorizers that you can use in the wash if you are worried about the musty animal smell. I believe that I read Dermagrip can be used on DP hides. I don't think Pro-i can be used on DP hides.

 

Sorry to hear about your health issues, KatieC. I hope the dry preservative works out for you. I've been using it exclusively and have not experience any health problems.

Your first question...You're not limited to small mammals and deer only. I dp hogs, elk, deer, oryx, antelope, aoudad and other large animals in shoulder, half mount and full body mounts. I've never had the opportunity to dry preserve a bear so I cannot answer your question on that.

The second question...I don't "shave" or thin my hides. They are fleshed on a beam removing all red meat and membrane. I will flesh deeper on thick necks or other heavy areas of the skin if needed.

As far as any smell...I've dry preserved all the animals I listed earlier as well as numerous other small game and have had no issues with odor. I wash them all before fleshing with Dawn and a little of the Lysol Concentrate. The Lysol leaves a slight chemical odor (which I like) and once the mount has dried there is no residual odor, chemical or natural.

Hide paste? I use Second 2 Nature's dry hide paste that is mixed with water. It holds but it does need a little help. I brad detail areas using 20 gauge galvanized brads. I never brad the face though. I'm sure there are other hide pastes that would also work very well if not better.

I would recommend buying a dvd from Second 2 Nature called "Basic Beginner Whitetail Deer Mounting Techniques with Dan Chase". Don't expect HD quality or current finish work methods. The video was made in the 80's but it does clearly explain how to use the dry preserve method.

 

I saw a video once that they DP'd a deer, I believe, on youtube. It looked like a decent video.

 

OK, From the top:

1) Sadly, you're going to have to forego bears probably. I have done enough of them to kknow that they are super greasy. I flesh and shave my bears before I send them out, so I'm pretty confident in my shaving ability. Even then, they take FOREVER to salt dry because of the grease in them. I just can't recommend a way where eventually your bear won't get a rancid smell to it because of that. I presume that if you washed it enough, the grease would go away, but a bear is actually pretty thin skinned and there's an equally good possibility that the hair will fall out from the high pH soap concentrations. I'd contract them out if I wasn't able to do them myself. Many many moons ago, I got a guy with a sob story who begged me to DP a full lifesized bear with DP to save tanning costs. I did and he PAID ME IN ROLLED UP PENNIES. He was so happy with the bear. He took it home to a small "modular" home and set it in his closed, west facing living room. A week later he's demanding his money back as the living room smells like a can of rancid lard. I gave him half his pennies back, reminded him what I'd told him about tanning, and told him never to come back to my shop ever again.

2) You've been told wrong. I can shave a deer just as spooky thin green as I can pickled or tanned. Now I use SAWDUST (stay away from salt as it dulls your blade and corrodes hell out of it.) Take your green hide and dip it in sawdust. Then shave the sawdust off. If you feel the hide is too thick, reapply the sawdust and shave it again. The sawdust gives you a good visual marker of where you've been and allows you to get rid of the membrane. Contrary to what some people will say, you can mount a whitetail that hasn't been shaved. Years ago, they were simply scraped, DPd and mounted.

3) Allay your fears. Actually DP eliminates odors. (WEAR RUBBER GLOVES. DP can dry your skin out as well as your hide. Not using gloves can cause dermatitis. Afterwards, use a good hand lotion. Those are the only hands you've got.) Wash your skin as you usually would. I'd use Dawn or some other mild detergent. Then spin dry the hide (or sling it around your head till you get dizzy and the water has been spun away). Wrap your hide in a dry towel, skin side to the towel. Leave it for about 20 minutes. Unfold it. (Here's where I spray the hide down with Stop Rot). Then DP your hide if you're ready to mount it (freeze it if you aren't). Personally I feel the best DP ever made is put out by Wesley Touchstone and Touchstone Supply. His Bess Maid does have naphtha flakes (moth crystals) and if you're allergic to them, you'll have to look around. Good DP has about 50% unscented talcum powder, 40% powdered borax and 10% Alum. The talc dries the skin, the borax inhibits insects and the alum is an astringent that locks down the hair. (One important thing to remember is that the alum takes time. At some point during DP if you grab the hair, it will pull free. DON'T PULL THE HAIR. When the hide dries, the alum will lock the hair down.) I use DP always on horned animals. As soon as cores are removed, I dump DP in them. No smell, no flies.

4) If you're not using Stop Rot in your process, I recommend the epoxy based hide pastes. DP constricts the hide greatly so the entire form must have hide paste on it. Skimping on hide paste just invites shrinkage. DP is susceptible to humidity and the hide will expand when in contact with moisture. Another good reason for epoxy. Every suppliers sell DP compatible hide paste but make sure before you buy it. If you don't, the hide paste instantly turns into bubblegum when it contacts the borax.

 

Now That is your answer. Thanks for chiming in George.

 

Don't get your DP from Research Mannikins if you don't like mothball smell.

 

Second to nature DP I've been using it for over 30 years and haven't had any problems plus no offensive smell. I'm with George on the bear tanning! I would never DP one .
Tommy

 

I was doing a squirrel recently and decided to use DP. Never used it on a mammal. I also used mcKenzie hide paste. The two react to each other and the paste is no longer paste. It resembles foam saw dust mixed with water.

 

I totally agree with George. When I first started, like many others at the time, I used Bess Maid DP exclusively. You don't have the time to drag around with it like you would with a tanned cape because it is a raw skin. Stop Rot came along thanks to Glen Conley, which is a game changer for dp users. It gives you a little more time to work up the cape in the raw state before applying dp and mounting. I started out using powdered hide paste like most of the era,and when the cape dried it pulled in detail areas thus required pinning also. Then along came Ron Carter's Lock Tight two part epoxy glue. Like Stop Rot, it was another game changer for DP users. Unfortunately it is no longer on the market, but one that is almost as good is called headlock. They are a little pricey, but your dp capes will have very little adjustment after 5-6 hours. So you have to get things like you want them before you walk away and once it cures you can't get it off the form with a wrecking bar. If any gets on the hair have your lacquer thinner handy and wipe it off. You get lots of stretch from a raw cape and if you don't use a good glue you get lots of shrinkage/pulling. All this dp talk makes me want to dp another mount. Jack.

 

DP will work just fine on Raccoons, beavers, and otters but you MUST degrease them first. After fleshing and shaving, I was them in Bloodout/Degreaser from EpoGrip and then with Dawn. I rinse them and towel dry them. I spray the hide with Stop Rot then I tumble them in corncob grit. Once the hair is dry, I rub in the DP and mount. Never had an issue.

 

Do not use DP with Mckenzie hide paste. I decided to do a squirrel using DP along with hide paste. I don’t know what chemical reaction happens but the paste resembles foam dust and water mixed together.

 

Most hide pastes will state if it will work with DP or not and if they don't, make sure before you use.

 

They have Instructions?? Katie would have caught that then as I’m sure any other woman would.

 

Michal P has a recipe for hide past, in the tutorial section . Works great for DP or tanned hides.
Where you put the skin is where it stays .
Billy

 

do you use earliness with epoxy or will bondo ears work ?