Antler burrs falling apart

I also boil and use sal soda and have not had that problem before. As far as stain goes I have had good results with van dykes antler stain it does not stain too dark. You can apply and rub it with a cloth to keep from getting too dark. Good luck let me know if you figure the cause of that antler burr problem.

 

I just use walnut stain for wood on my skulls with a lot of sucess. I can stain a whole whitened antler back to the best color.

 

how to fix? stop boiling ! I use beetles but know a lot of people that SIMMER their skulls. I think your temp was too hot? I use a couple different shades of color (stain) Minwax brand. Seems if you mix a couple colors they look pretty natural. hope this helps - not tellin ya your way is wrong or my beetle way is right. "Thats why my saying is Dont Boil That Trophy" but simmering does also work good luck

 

Boiling didn't help, but the sal soda will absolutely dissolve bones. I warn people about using that stuff and not watching the process very closely. Years ago I put a bear skull in a pot and allowed it to boil for about 4 hours. All I found in the pot was the teeth.

 

use mod podge to seal the crumbling areas and then after that dries, apply apoxie sculpt and re texture the antler burr and smooth out.... after that dries apply a heavy coat of walnut stain and let set for 30 mins; just long enought to tack up. then take a q-tip with acetone and wipe down until the color matches. hope this helps ....

 

Before I got beeetles I used meat tenderizer in my boiling process.
Hunter