Antler Staining
Contributors to this thread:Caribou
From: yooper89
09-Mar-22
What do you all use to stain antlers? The company that packaged up my caribou skull hit the antlers with a pressure washer and took some coloring off. Would like to touch them up.
From: TEmbry
09-Mar-22
Best finished look I’ve seen the guy used potassium permanganate. Can get at water treatment stores as it was used as a lead filter cleaner back in the day (I believe). Liquid is a deep purple, think Barney the dinosaur, but after brushed on dries a perfect antler brown.
I have some, but haven’t used it myself yet as I’m too chicken to mess it up so trying to locate some bleached out caribou sheds to practice on first.
From: yooper89
09-Mar-22
Thanks! Gonna be tough to find bou sheds in Colorado but I’ll try to find some old mule deer antlers this spring.
From: [email protected]
09-Mar-22
many things will work Van Dykes and MacKenzie sell antler stain to taxidermists you can buy online
From: butcherboy
09-Mar-22
Top soil. You can buy it at any hardware store or garden center. Mix it with some water and rub it on. Let it dry then just brush it off with your hand. You can make it as dark or light as you want. I usually use a leather glove or a cloth glove with a rubber glove underneath the cloth one.
From: Aubs8
09-Mar-22
Agree with potassium permanganate...dilute to a very light color and add multiple coats to desired color...then lightly sand...
A big mistake would be to not dilute it enough...if apply too dark, there is no way to lighten it up.
From: JRABQ
09-Mar-22
For a small touch up jib like that I would first try something simple, make a paste of strong coffee and coffee grounds, or instant coffee.
From: walking buffalo
10-Mar-22
Copy nature and use or mimic what the caribou used. Blood, and plant oils/tannins. In other words, use various wood stains to mix and match.
From: APauls
10-Mar-22
We've owned a cabinet shop forever so I always used wood stain. But coffee grounds also work good.
From: wytex
10-Mar-22
A little pine sap and some dirt will fix that right up.
From: Deerdugg
10-Mar-22
