Staining Antlers??????

[simmered]

This year I attempted to do my own Euro mount and it came out really well I think. There is only a very small piece of antler that got whitened a little from the boiling water.
I'm interested in staining the antlers. Wondering what kind of stain people are using when they do this? When staining antlers is the process the same as staining wood?
Thanks for your input.
Ill post pics when done.

[JohnB]

I use a wood stain in Dark Walnut.

[RDW]

did you put anything in the water if you did not let it dry and see what it looks like.

[deadeye]

potassium permanganate

[moose maniac]

halfords has antler stain

[Andrew_Arsenault]

If the antler whitened, you boiled the head for to long. When you get stain, get glue for the nose pieces and teeth. They will prob fall out. Lots of fun isn't it though. I do close to 10 or 15 a year. I also rub the horns with a mineral oil. It really brings out the color, try that before stain.

[scooter123]

I often wonder if brown shoe polish would work???

[Springer]

I often wonder if brown shoe polish would work???

Yes it sure will , the Darker the better. Also a Burnt umber stain turns out well.

[waylow]

I often wonder if brown shoe polish would work???

I've tried it without success. Use a wood stain in a darker color.

[BigRackLover]

halfords has antler stain

works good too.

[simmered]

Thanks for all the input. I have the skull drying right now and will see how colour is after it is dried. If colour doesn't look good I'll try some wood stain. I have a dark minwax colour I'll try.
After you guys whiten then skull how many use urathane to coat the skull?

[Andrew_Arsenault]

I leave mine as is. I prefer the matte white. What did you use to whiten it?

[winger7mm]

I really dont mean to hi jack the thread but, I was getting off work the other day, and someone from work, who I have no idea, had put a nice nice 3X4 mulie skull with the rack attached in the box of my truck, sweet I thought. But the rack is sun bleached white, is there anything I can do to restore the rack color? if not, would you guys suggest putting a sun bleached rack on the wall as a euro mount, or in the front flower bed? thanks winger7mm, sorry to the op this is not a hijack, just a simular topic ;)

[simmered]

My sister in law works at a salon so she got me some volume 40 peroxide and some whitening powder. The first skull I did I used regular hair bleach with mediocre results. This peroxide should work out much better!!
Winger why not try the wood stain or perhaps the antler stain due to the antlers being completely bleached out

[Springer]

I've tried it without success. Use a wood stain in a darker color.

I used a Brush that is used for applying the Shoe Polish ,it really helps to get in the crevices.

[ksteed17]

I really dont mean to hi jack the thread but, I was getting off work the other day, and someone from work, who I have no idea, had put a nice nice 3X4 mulie skull with the rack attached in the box of my truck, sweet I thought. But the rack is sun bleached white, is there anything I can do to restore the rack color? if not, would you guys suggest putting a sun bleached rack on the wall as a euro mount, or in the front flower bed? thanks winger7mm, sorry to the op this is not a hijack, just a simular topic ;)


Yes you can and no personally I wouldn't hang em up.

[Houndogn]

potassium permanganate
and the best darn disinfectant (if ya can stand the stain) or cure for hoof rot that u can find ....lemon juice will take the stain off tho, so ya can play with the color that you like

[thumper]

Minwax stain, colour: 'Provincial 211'
You can buy a little 250 ml can, and it'll last forever.
Apply with a rag, wipe off excess - the high points will be lighter and the 'creases' darker - just like nature intended!

[walking buffalo]

Antlers come in different colors, so does wood stain. ;)

[lippy]

potassium permanganate

X2 works great especially on bleached out antlers.

[cmcclung]

I tried an antler stain from AAA supply house in Calgary and was not that impressed. They had two colors dark brown and reddish brown. I got the dark brown but it was really red. I might just try the wood stain as mentioned above.

[moose1973]

Potassium permagenate. You can buy it at any water treatment store. It is used in water treatment for removing iron.

Mix it - It will be Purple but dont worry, it comes out brown,and apply with rag or q tips. Leave on a few minutes then wipe off with rag. If you want it darker re-apply in coats.
Once done I take fine grit sand paper and lightly rub over antler burs and tips. This will remove the brown color and bring out that natural look.

Works awesome. Better than any horn stain you can buy.

[fast_pass88]

I really dont mean to hi jack the thread but, I was getting off work the other day, and someone from work, who I have no idea, had put a nice nice 3X4 mulie skull with the rack attached in the box of my truck, sweet I thought. But the rack is sun bleached white, is there anything I can do to restore the rack color? if not, would you guys suggest putting a sun bleached rack on the wall as a euro mount, or in the front flower bed? thanks winger7mm, sorry to the op this is not a hijack, just a simular topic ;)

i've done it with several sheds, including one elk shed that was totally bleached, but not cracked) on one side. i used a base coat of shellac to seal the antlers, then wipe on wood stain with a rag. buy 3 or 4 shades of stain, from reds to browns to tans. the elk antler took a while, but looks fantastic. it takes a long time because when you seal it with shellac first, it doesn't take on stain very well. you have to apply a very thin coat, then let dry for a couple days, preferably in a heated room. otherwise it will rub off on your hands. since then i've tried staining first and shellac sealer afterwards, which goes a lot faster. be very conservative when staining before sealing, aged antler is very porous and absorbs the stain quickly. after staining i scuff it with sand paper to highlight all the bumps around the brows and what not. also the shellac leaves a gloss finish, if you don't want that just go over it with some 0000 steel wool.
if your going to hang the antlers outside, definitly take the time to shellac them, they'll last way longer in the sun/rain.

[fast_pass88]

here's a pic of a mulie shed we used to carry our rings down the isle a couple months ago. this side of the antler was very white, and with different shades of brown and red stains in the crevaces and peaks i think it came out pretty good.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r205/jordan_rachar/IMG_4622.jpg



edit- holy crap thats a huge picture lol...when its that close up it looks kinda blotchy...anyways, you get the idea

[simmered]

So I've completed my skull and tried to seal it with some urathane. I used minwax version of clear satin. Well long story short my skull now has a yellow hue to it. What do you guys use to seal the skull after its whitened. I have my buddies all bleached out it looks awesome and I dont want to yellow it. Need some suggestions please. Thanks