Best way to clean up my mount?

[ccromnes]

I noticed that there are a few cobwebs and dust on my mount. What is the best way to remove and clean up my mount?

[Huntress]

Fish:
Vacuum with a soft brush attachment, use a damp rag and wipe down...go 'with' the scales NOT against. Glass cleaner and paper towel for eyes.

Birds:
Use a feather duster only to remove dust/cobwebs. Go with the lay of the feathers. Glass cleaner/paper towel for eyes.

Mammals:
Vacuum with a soft brush attachment OR reverse the vacuum to blow dust off....go 'with' the lay of the hair. Wipe down with a damp rag. Can be brushed or combed when dry if any hair patterns are out of place. Glass cleaner/paper towel for eyes.

If any of your mounts are really dirty or discolored from smoke then take them to the taxidermist to be cleaned. Most taxidermists don't charge much for cleaning and touching up paint on mounts.....If I mounted the animal in my shop I'll clean it for nothing so maybe take it back to where you had it mounted and ask if they'll clean it for you.

[ccromnes]

Huntress, thanks for the info! It is my deer mount I'm asking about. I noticed the whiskers on the chin have dust and cobwebs. So would it be best to vacuum the chin?

[Huntress]

ccromnes said:

Huntress, thanks for the info! It is my deer mount I'm asking about. I noticed the whiskers on the chin have dust and cobwebs. So would it be best to vacuum the chin?

Yup, most vacs have a 'soft brush' attachment....use that (or if using a canister vac plug the hose into the exhaust and blow the dust off) then clean up the eyes with some glass cleaner sprayed on a piece of paper towel.

[Win Mag]

Huntress i was watching a program on TV and they come to a "How to clean your Mount" part.And the Taxidermist said to use glass cleaner on the hide and antlers ??

That just didn't set right with me for some reasons.
Wouldn't the chemicals in the cleaner be more harmful to the hide ?
Specially if dust and dirt can cause as much damageover the years.

[Huntress]

winmag said:

Huntress i was watching a program on TV and they come to a "How to clean your Mount" part.And the Taxidermist said to use glass cleaner on the hide and antlers ??

That just didn't set right with me for some reasons.
Wouldn't the chemicals in the cleaner be more harmful to the hide ?
Specially if dust and dirt can cause as much damageover the years.

For every aspect of taxidermy there is a guy out there with a different way to do it....these are just my suggestions.

IMHO a damp rag (water only) is the only thing my customers should use on their mounts. Especially if we're talking about deer or other animals with hollow hair. Common sense tells me not to use anything on a mount that I wouldn't use on my own hair and I'm darn sure not going to spray an ammonia based cleaner (glass cleaner) on my hair!

If your mount gets really dirty then take it in for cleaning. Most taxidermists will use a mild soap and water and get the mount pretty wet....then rinse well. The problem with doing this at home is, if you're not careful you'll get the mount too wet and could cause the hide to pull away from the form. Also if it's not rinsed well the residual soap will just hold more dust and your mount will be dirtier in a short amount of time.

As far as antlers go....again, just use a damp rag to clean them. Don't rub too hard or you'll take the color off. All the color in antlers is the dirt/sap from the buck rubbing....I'll actually grind dirt into a rack that I'm restoring to help get a natural color. If you're afraid the antlers are drying out too much you can use Scott's Liquid Gold and a soft cloth to restore the sheen. Wipe it all over, let it soak in for an hour or so....if there is excess, wipe it off. If all the oil is soaked in you can give it one more application and then wipe off the excess.

[Win Mag]

Thanks Huntress
Thats all i have ever used is a damp cloth.I even one taxidermist said to use a damp piece of bread.Common sense dictates the out come of that....

The liquid gold i will use, they could use a sheen.

[jwj4856]

one other thing you can use on hair if it looks dull after ckleaning is to go get you a bottle of afro sheen from store and spray on, let sit for about half hour then wipe off with dry rag and brush hair, will sure bring shine back to dull looking hair.