Softening Hides - Sanding and Oiling

jmdelipper · #1 12-20-2018, 12:04 PM

I am working on a whitetail doe hide and so far it is coming along well. I have been using a flat nail pry bar to break the hide and it is pretty soft so far. I am hoping to make it as soft as I can expect at home. I have a couple questions about sanding and oiling.

The hide is fairly dry and broken, can a softening oil be applied now? I was looking into neatsfoot oil or mink oil. Would one be better than the other?

As for sanding the hide, what grit would be appropriate? I imagine that a whitetail skin is thick enough that I could use a relatively coarse grit to do the bulk work.

Any help is appreciated!

calgarychef · #2 12-20-2018, 06:51 PM

I’m not “exactly” sure how you’re approaching this, but it sounds a bit like braintanning.

Once you’ve got it dehaired, the epedermis is removed and the flesh side is well scraped then you dampen it so it’s like a “well wrung” sponge, then soak it in neats foot oil and real soap (sunlight bar soap). Now the work begins ...keep working it until it’s toallly dry and you’re done....except that if it gets wet again it will set up hard. So smoke it to prevent that.

RockyMountainMusic · #3 12-20-2018, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmdelipper

I am working on a whitetail doe hide and so far it is coming along well. I have been using a flat nail pry bar to break the hide and it is pretty soft so far. I am hoping to make it as soft as I can expect at home. I have a couple questions about sanding and oiling.

The hide is fairly dry and broken, can a softening oil be applied now? I was looking into neatsfoot oil or mink oil. Would one be better than the other?

As for sanding the hide, what grit would be appropriate? I imagine that a whitetail skin is thick enough that I could use a relatively coarse grit to do the bulk work.

Any help is appreciated!

Yes you can add oil at that stage but the trick is to keep working it until it’s dry afterwards, another trick is to heat the oil up and apply hot, the hotter the better but u don’t need to burn yourself. I’d recommend oil specifically for the process you can order from a few places. AAA taxidermy supply carries some and works well. As for sanding paper I’d use a fairly course grit but be careful not to use in same spot too long it will burn through, and it heats the hide you don’t want to do that. You can finish with a five grit to get smooth and fuzzies off! Deer are fairly easy to break by hand! Good luck

jmdelipper · #4 12-20-2018, 08:33 PM

Thanks for the replies... I should note that I am doing a hair on tan using the orange bottle Hunter's and Trappers Hide Tanning Formula.

shakeyleg02 · #5 12-20-2018, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmdelipper

Thanks for the replies... I should note that I am doing a hair on tan using the orange bottle Hunter's and Trappers Hide Tanning Formula.

Good luck

220 Swift · #6 12-21-2018, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakeyleg02

Good luck

Is this orange stuff no good or are you wishing the best?

shakeyleg02 · #7 12-21-2018, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 220 Swift

Is this orange stuff no good or are you wishing the best?

That would be ok for small critters like weasel and like ..I guess but no I don't recommend it for anything honestly ...buy a kit from a supplier and follow the instructions
Good kits are as follows
Lutan f
Rittles Ez 100
Trubond products
I've used all 3 of these .. Rittles and trubond will produce garment quality tans ..been using trubond the last couple years and love it .
I'm sure there are other good kits out there also think halfords has some ..and of course a taxidermy supplier will also ..

My 2 cents

jmdelipper · #8 12-21-2018, 09:22 AM

I thought about a kit but we don't have anything local here in Winnipeg where you can get supplies. I wanted to jump into it as soon as possible without having to wait for a kit to ship.

I do think I'll be looking at buying from either AAA or Select(?) out in Calgary there. Any recommendations?

yukon254 · #9 12-21-2018, 09:27 AM

A hide should be oiled when it is about 80% dry. You have to order it from the US but I encourage anyone who is home tanning ( hair on) to try Trubond 1000B. Its a paint on tan, and its the best out there. It takes very little breaking to produce a soft hide. Truly incredible stuff.

shakeyleg02 · #10 12-21-2018, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmdelipper

I thought about a kit but we don't have anything local here in Winnipeg where you can get supplies. I wanted to jump into it as soon as possible without having to wait for a kit to ship.

I do think I'll be looking at buying from either AAA or Select(?) out in Calgary there. Any recommendations?

Yes AAA carries Lutan f ..trapper gord in debolt carries rittels ez 100 its in his cataloque anyways and of course trubond is out of the USA ..no supplier in Canada

shakeyleg02 · #11 12-21-2018, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmdelipper

I thought about a kit but we don't have anything local here in Winnipeg where you can get supplies. I wanted to jump into it as soon as possible without having to wait for a kit to ship.

I do think I'll be looking at buying from either AAA or Select(?) out in Calgary there. Any recommendations?

Theres B&M sports also which have quite a bit of tanning supplies believe they are out of quebec

220 Swift · #12 12-21-2018, 07:49 PM

Ok thanks.

I did the alumn tan this year hair on and last year hair off. The hair slipped a bit this year but i think it was my fault as i rolled it up after fleshing. I pulled what i could off and this guy will be cut up i guess.

HunterDave · #13 12-21-2018, 08:00 PM

I tanned a deer hide hair on with just a hunting knife to flesh and that orange bottle formula and it turned out great. I never broke the hide so it’s stiff and not supple. For awhile I had it up on the wall and later on the back of a couch and as a rug. It was perfect for that but you wouldn’t want to use it as a blanket.

I use it on my small beaver that I don’t send to auction and leave them stiff as well. A little stiffness works well for beaver hoops.

Halford’s had some stuff that you were supposed to just rub in for a soft tan but I never did buy and try it.

jmdelipper · #14 12-21-2018, 08:07 PM

Really glad you guys mentioned the TruBond stuff. I looked at buying a kit at one point from McKenzie or Van Dykes, but i dont think they will ship certain liquid products. So that ended up being a no go.

As for TruBond, i see they sell Lubri-Stretch that I can use on tanned hides which sounds great.

Thanks for bringing that up Yukon and shakey!

RockyMountainMusic · #15 12-22-2018, 09:44 AM

I can also vouch for trubond 1000B, after talking with Yukon254 last year I decided to order it. Well worth it and I love the quality tan it produces. But no matter what product u use u still have to do the proper steps for a good tan like thinning thicker hides etc... that orange bottle stuff is crap wouldn’t recommend for anything, it’s not even a tan.