Washing Fur

[ALEX]

How and at what point in the fleshing/stretching/tanning process does everyone wash their furs to remove any grease, burs, ticks, etc..?

[Unreal_tk]

Each furbearer is handled differently. You need to be specific about which type you are inquiring about.

For cats, before I skin it out I always check for matts, burrs, etc. If you have a burr work it out by hand DO NOT BRUSH it. You will pull out hair which will make it look damaged to a fur buyer. If you find alot of pitch in the hide, use some brake cleaner (work it with your fingers, doesn't take alot).

Washing cats is dependant of the person. I will wash mine if there is alot of blood, if I have to wash I do this order. Rinse 3 times in a bucket, 2 times with dawn, rinse again, 1 time with laundry detergent, rinse, soak in fabric softer, rinse until nothing but water is clean.

Stretching is the most important part of a put up on any animal. My recommended video is Mercer Lawings. Www.cagingbobcats.com

[strow]

An argument can be made for doing it before or after fleshing depending on the species.
I only wash my canines. Coyote and fox. Cats all get choked down and dry cleaned with Borax.

If you wash them before you flesh then you allow the leather to dry some as your fleshing and working Borax in.

If you wash them after you flesh them you will need to let them drip dry a little. I do NOT leave them leather out for long, but I do give them a good dusting in Borax before I put them leather in on a good wood streather. Washing after fleshing does a better job of getting all the grease and fat off the bottom of the hide.

Washing before is quicker (for me). Washing after gives a slightly better looking pelt. Both will work.

[livetohunt]

ALEX, I make sure all burs are removed before and thing else, if not you can rip the pelt when skinning and fleshing. Same as said before some animals are brushed others I remove by hand, get some of the cheap kids hair detangler from Walmart and spray it on to help it works great. As for Fleas and Ticks some Raid bug spray and a trash bag work great, I put the animal in the trash bag spray in some Raid tie the bag up and let it sit a while. If I do have to wash the animal its done right after skinning and before anything else is done. I wash by hand with Woolite detergent and use an old gas dryer with no heat hooked up as a tumbler filled with wood shavings and Borax. I then flesh the pelt and back into the tumbler again. After the 2nd time in the tumbler I do any cleaning thats needed with dry Borax rubbed on,it works great to clean blood, mud, and make any white fur pop. Also at this time if its a fur out animal I rub the Borax onto the flesh side around face, ears, tail and pits and put up fur out I skip the flip.

[LarryBeggs]

I lay my cats out on a clean surface right after I skin them and wash them with the garden hose untel no more blood is seen.I ring them realy good. Shake them out and freeze them with the fur out.Before I flesh them I brush and blow dry them.After they are dry and turned I brush corn starch in to the fur to soak up the grease.I have never had the fur slip .The only time I have seen anyone have a problem with the fur slipping is if they werent skined fast enogh,frozen quick enough,left out to long in the fleshing process ,or dried fast enough.The blow drying and brushing takes some time but is worth it. They dry faster on the board. And look a lot better. The corn starch realy puffs up the fur and make it seem softer buy getting rid of the grease.When brushing the corn starch into the dry fur you can pull the hair out so you do need to use your fingers to beak up any remaining matted spotts.There are a lot of ways to get this done that work good. But this is what has worked for me.I am usualy happy with my prices .Take care,Larry

[livetohunt]

As for tanning are you looking to do some pelts for your own use? If so you can try some of that do it yourself tan but it really dont cost that much to send in some pelts and have them done right. If your wanting to put up pelts to sell you dont want to tan them. Skin, flesh and put up, then sell. Most of the fur buyers want to tan them the way they like to do it.

[ALEX]

I would just like to tan them for myself. Do you know of some quality tanneries that I could send pelts to that serve the public, not just taxidermists?

[Unreal_tk]

Mink & Moyle is where I send my holdovers. They are located in northern idaho. Takes a long time to get your hides back so be patient.

[CRA]

Golden State Tannery is fast and just down the road from you Alex. Its in Turlock Ca.
http://www.goldenstatetannery.com/

[ALEX]

Thank you CRA. I had found their site a few days ago, but was not sure if they took shipments from the public. Sounds like they do though, which is great.

[Trapperman]

Interesting. We don't wash ours at all. Wonder if we're loosing money?