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Post by trappnman on Sept 14, 2008 6:12:13 GMT -6
reading some stuff on washing furs, and the advice was to use soap, dishwashing soap, etc-
and my answer to this is no- don't use any soap 99% of the time. If you got one that rolled in something big time, perhaps-
but generally, just water is all you need. Soap is about impossible to get out of fur- I've used it both by hand (washtub) and in a wringer machine- both are unsatisfactery in our opinion.
Good clean water does the trick- removes the blood, mud- and still leaves the oils in the fur.
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Post by Bob Jameson on Sept 14, 2008 6:43:31 GMT -6
low sudsing detergents, woollite , simple green etc. I have used when necessary.
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Post by bobwendt on Sept 14, 2008 7:22:35 GMT -6
always used soap. no problems. one thing I learned quick is never ever ever wash a bobcat. dry clean after finished only. you wash them and they get flatter than a pancake, i.e. wash the good right out of them. badger and coyotes especially benefit from washing. never messed with washing much of anything else as just not worth the effort.
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Post by walkingstick on Sept 14, 2008 7:23:02 GMT -6
Been in taxidermy over 45 years now and know certain detergents can actually induce slippage. The taxidermy trade has an excellent cleanser-relaxer -degreaser called Kemel 4 that will not cause hair slippage. They also have some bacteriacides that slow the bacterial action on hides (will not reverse it) but I have used it extensively in tanning solutions and rehydrating and washing baths. These are all much better that strong detergents and leave no residue on the hair. A tumbled hide looks as good if not better than it did on the animal.
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Post by 17HMR on Sept 14, 2008 7:42:41 GMT -6
I have been useing less through the years.....now just 1 small cap full of woolite to 5 gal of water, it will make the coyotes look fuller, even with cold water.
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Post by trappnman on Sept 14, 2008 7:45:40 GMT -6
yes, woolite, non sudsing stuff- but dishwashing soaps, shampoos gets such a deep suds, thats its impossible to get out on long haired furs without al ot more work that I want to do- and thats with using a wringer washer.
clean water does the job just as well for daily work.
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Post by northof50 on Sept 14, 2008 8:27:16 GMT -6
Walkingstick better get an upgrade on his posting. What he says is absolutely true. Soap has a tendency to remove fat and sometimes that is the fat sub-cutaneous in the skin, when the hides are tanned these areas break apart because of the soap action on the hide in those spots. Once washed the hides have to be immediately dried because of the bacteria action that has been introduced and enhanced with the wetting.
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Post by bill1306 (Phil) on Sept 14, 2008 11:32:29 GMT -6
The only soap I ever use when washing coyotes or badgers is borax soap. I'm like Bob, I never wash a cat and normally I try and keep the blood off so that I don't have to wash anything.
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Post by bobwendt on Sept 14, 2008 11:56:02 GMT -6
bloodless cat killing is easy, as is coyote and badger. coon makes no difference unless it cakes so bad as to interfere with fleshing.
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Post by FWS on Sept 14, 2008 12:38:58 GMT -6
Dawn liquid dishwashing soap, it's very mild and easily rinses out. It is the cleansing agent we use to clean oiled birds and mammals after a spill. Works well on fur too.
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Post by trappincoyotes39 on Sept 14, 2008 12:47:48 GMT -6
anyone use a small amount of oxy clean?
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Post by trappnman on Sept 14, 2008 14:18:49 GMT -6
Dawn? the exact brand I tried, with terrible results- that on coyotes.
rinsing soap out forever
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Post by trappincoyotes39 on Sept 14, 2008 14:52:07 GMT -6
A liitle powdered oxy clean in water is a blood magnet and leaves the fur shiny and no residue to boot after a quick dunk in a cold water bucket!
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Post by trappnman on Sept 14, 2008 15:05:44 GMT -6
i'll try it.
tried downy last year, and didn't see much difference so quit doing it
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Post by HappyPlumber on Sept 14, 2008 15:43:59 GMT -6
So what is the procedure for washing skunks other than the skunk oder stuff?
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Post by thorsmightyhammer on Sept 14, 2008 16:48:11 GMT -6
I would think that a degreaser like dawn would pull the natural oils out of a fur.
We dont want to do that.
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Post by bobwendt on Sept 14, 2008 17:07:44 GMT -6
why wash a skunk? I`ve never washed one.
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Sept 14, 2008 20:14:40 GMT -6
Bob's right about cats, don't put them in water. I dry wash them with Borax.
As far as coyotes go, I figure for what they are worth the buyers are lucky if I get the guts out of them.
I'm thinking about hanging snares around my cat sets this year to kill coyotes that want to circle.
Do the country a favor and might snag an extra cat or two as well.
Joel
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Post by trappnman on Sept 15, 2008 5:49:00 GMT -6
and that Joel, is why you get the lowest prices possible on coyotes.
after skinning fur work, probably gives more value in yotes than anything overall
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Sept 15, 2008 7:52:35 GMT -6
I agree that finishing a pelt is real important. As far as I know, I started the so called Nevada stretch which has become the standard for finishing western cats.
I remember the cat that I did it with. He stretched 50" and 14" wide at the base. I didn't have a stretcher big enough or he would have gone 55" easy.
I had all this loose skin on the back legs so I just tacked them over on the tail board and spread them out. I noticed that it made the belly look about a third longer so I started doing it to all of them.
I got a hundred dollar higher average than my buddy that was stetching them the old way. Cats off of the same mountain bascially.
There have been improvements to that style of stretch since then like tacking the front legs up over the neck and pinning the ears flat.
I won't spend that kind of time for an extra 5 maybe 10 bucks on a coyote but I will for an extra 100 on a cat.
I only skinned 3 coyotes last year. I kind of figure why put any more on the market to compete with you guys that target them.
I'm worn out at the end of the day and even though a coyote is pretty easy to skin I'd just as soon save the energy.
Joel
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