Kodiak Cowboy
Custom
We've all seen a set of antlers hanging up on the peak of an eve or gable end. On barns or wood sheds. Above a porch door, front or back. Heck, I've come across them while hunting in the woods. Hanging by a nail in a tree. Obviously where the hunter killed and also felt like hanging their trophy. In any of these cases. Often they will be sun bleached and can also have what I call "micro" or "bone and antler moss" growing on the skull or skull cap as well as the Antlers. Well I'm going to explain a very simple way to make your old weathered Euro mount look like you just picked it up from the Taxidermist and hung them on that gable the same day! If you're stripping old velvet. You can skip Step 1
Step 1
This simply involves diluted beach with water at 20%-30% bleach and 70%-80% water. A green 3-M scrub pad and a hand held medium stiff bristled scrub brush.
If the trophy is to far gone and soft don't even bother trying to restore it. Chances are it will just break apart as your cleaning it. If it is worth freshening up? Get it wet with bleach solution using your scrub brush. Let stand five minutes. Then scrub the entire trophy until no more green moss is visible you may need to repeat this process a few times and even there still may be a slight tint of very light green. Not to worry.
Once you have the trophy as clean as you feel it's going to get. Rise throughly with freshwater. If the skull or cap isn't as white as you prefer? Either give it a lite coat of dull white spray paint or use a powerful peroxide solution that is normally used for skull bleaching. For those that think the diluted Clorox is going to break down bone. It won't if it's diluted and you rise your trophy thoroughly with freshwater right after cleaning.
Remember, your not trying to bleach the trophy. Just clean it!
Step 2
With a soft bristled tooth brush and a tin of "BROWN" Kiwi shoe polish.
Brush shoe polish on antlers liberally starting at the bases. Using less and less polish as you get the further twords the tips of the main beams and all other points. You may want to put on some thin latex shop gloves and work the polish by hand back down from the tips to give the Antlers a ntural color fade.
Trust me. The more trophies you restore the better each one will look.
I've done several sets. From spike Deer. To 300 inch Elk. To 65" wide Alaska/Yukon Moose.
This is a 9 point Sitka Blacktail rack that someone had stripped of its velvet some several years after taking the animal.
He brought it to me just the other day. He said he wanted a dark rack. I said OK! Not a problem.
Before
After
The darkness all depends on how much polish one uses.
If you want a lighter shade. Use very little polish at the start and see how you like it. The lighter you go. The more rubbing by hand it takes to spread out the polish. If you don't like how it turns out. No problem the polish with wash right off with hot water and a good degreaser.
It all really is that easy. Hope you guys enjoyed this post and restore an old set of headgear one day!
Good and safe hunting to all you guys and gals!
Step 1
This simply involves diluted beach with water at 20%-30% bleach and 70%-80% water. A green 3-M scrub pad and a hand held medium stiff bristled scrub brush.
If the trophy is to far gone and soft don't even bother trying to restore it. Chances are it will just break apart as your cleaning it. If it is worth freshening up? Get it wet with bleach solution using your scrub brush. Let stand five minutes. Then scrub the entire trophy until no more green moss is visible you may need to repeat this process a few times and even there still may be a slight tint of very light green. Not to worry.
Once you have the trophy as clean as you feel it's going to get. Rise throughly with freshwater. If the skull or cap isn't as white as you prefer? Either give it a lite coat of dull white spray paint or use a powerful peroxide solution that is normally used for skull bleaching. For those that think the diluted Clorox is going to break down bone. It won't if it's diluted and you rise your trophy thoroughly with freshwater right after cleaning.
Remember, your not trying to bleach the trophy. Just clean it!
Step 2
With a soft bristled tooth brush and a tin of "BROWN" Kiwi shoe polish.
Brush shoe polish on antlers liberally starting at the bases. Using less and less polish as you get the further twords the tips of the main beams and all other points. You may want to put on some thin latex shop gloves and work the polish by hand back down from the tips to give the Antlers a ntural color fade.
Trust me. The more trophies you restore the better each one will look.
I've done several sets. From spike Deer. To 300 inch Elk. To 65" wide Alaska/Yukon Moose.
This is a 9 point Sitka Blacktail rack that someone had stripped of its velvet some several years after taking the animal.
He brought it to me just the other day. He said he wanted a dark rack. I said OK! Not a problem.
Before
After
The darkness all depends on how much polish one uses.
If you want a lighter shade. Use very little polish at the start and see how you like it. The lighter you go. The more rubbing by hand it takes to spread out the polish. If you don't like how it turns out. No problem the polish with wash right off with hot water and a good degreaser.
It all really is that easy. Hope you guys enjoyed this post and restore an old set of headgear one day!
Good and safe hunting to all you guys and gals!
