Eastern Shore 20 point|Gamehead and Lifesize Mammals|Forum|Taxidermy Talk

Gary, the small velvet rack was tanned in house, and finished with Pan Pastels, then sealed with matte Mod Podge. As per your question on coloring antlers. take note, that antlers will fade considerably once removed and hung to dry. sometimes to a almost pure bone color. IMO, this does take away from the natural look in a mount. once the antlers are removed after skinning, I use a Scotch Brite Pad to scrub the antlers with Tri Sodium Phosphate (TSP). you can get this at your hardware store. this will remove all the surface residual dirt, sap and blood. they are then hung until it is time to mount. it is clearly noticeable that the antlers will lighten in color as they dry. Prior to mounting, I re color with Potassium Permanganate. I get this from a pool supply company. It can be mixed with water or alcohol. I use the latter. you can control the intensity by your mix ratio. I apply with a soft cloth. it will go one purple, but will dry into a natural antler brown, as is soaks into the antlers. you can adjust the transition of the color by wiping off the tips before it dries. this is a permeate color finish that will never fade, and really adds to your finished mount. hope this helps Gary