Question for taxidermists about deer capes

[Born2late]

I’ve noticed on my Blacktail deer from the pictures of when I killed it comparing them to the pictures of the mount how much the white on the muzzle faded especially under the eyes into the back of the mouth. Discussing it with my friend that has multiple blacktail‘s mounted all of his are the same way also. Does anybody know why the white fades off the cape when it’s tanned?

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

I’m not really understanding when you say ‘the white faded away’? I’m not trying to be facetious, but you can’t really fade white? I’m guessing what you mean is there isn’t as much white as there was in the in-field photo? If that is what you mean, a lot of times you would be surprised how much of the deer and the white points can appear lighter and bigger with natural light vs. in a room with artificial light. Also…this ‘fading’ your referring too, are you noticing it when you get your mount back or following some time on the wall?

I’m not the only taxi on here nor do I have all the answers but I do most of my tanning in house and have spent lots of time researching and reading about tanning techniques and am pretty familiar with the process and differing practices. Clarify what youre meaning and I would love to offer some insight, if it’s obvious. Or, give me a call and we can chat about your concerns or questions

[Born2late]

The picture of when I killed it is a solid white muzzle extending back on the side behind the mouth to the back of the eye.
The day I got it back from being mounted it was more light brown shades there compared to the bright white. Not complaining at all, he did a great job, just curious if anyone else has noticed that before. We looked at 4 of my buddy’s mounts from a different taxidermist and his where the same. You wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t look at the as the lay shot then the mounted shot.
It doesn’t have to do with lighting. It literally looks as if the white was washed out or somehow fades back to the original color before he got the white muzzle.

[BlackRiverTaxidermy]

Perfect, that helps. I don’t know the taxidermist your using or what tannery or method he uses for tanning but I’ve seen that before in a tannery I used to use and have experienced it before in my own tanning once. What most likely is occurring is the PH levels in either the pickle (salt/acid/water mixture) or the tanning mixture were really low for a sustained time such as 2.0 or lower to accidentally acid-burn the hair which is commonly seen on the lighter colored areas. The other potential situation is after tanning, which is typically a very acidic process, the hide/cape was not ‘buffered’ meaning the PH in the skin was not brought back up to a neutral level (5.0-7.0). The skin, which holds the tanning product, can remain acidic which causes fading and potentially long term issues with hair becoming brittle. Have you even seen an older mountain goat, cougar, or ram mount that looks yellowish-tan? That’s a good example of what acid can do to the hair both quickly and over time. I reference those types of species as they are lighter and more delicate that most and it’s typically seen first on these animals. Tanning products and methods are much more thorough/safer with the developement of newer synthetic tanning products, however lots of guys/taxis and some tanneries stick to the older methods such as aluminum sulfate. This is not necessarily a bad thing or less of a tan, you just have to watch PH levels much more closely to avoid such things as what your describing.

This is typically the most common association with your description of the white areas on the cape.
The other potential is when airbrushing was done in the final stages of the mount by the taxi some paint may have gotten onto the whiter areas. Taxidermists usually use water-based laquer paint for big game as it comes off hair easily with light brushing with a small brush, but retains on the skin. Long shot, but another thing is it could just be some layered paint that was retained on the nearby painted area that wasn’t cleaned off. Airbrushing is very light and it would be hard to determine if the area was not lighter unless the tax had photos or a memory to reflect the whiter areas….again, a potentially explanation.
Florescent lighting can also cause that as well over time. Not that this is what your dealing with, but I always tell people to never install florescent lighting in their trophy rooms or put a mount under this type of lighting in a shop or garage…it fades mounts badly.
Hopefully this helped. Again, not definitive, but my best guess on what the issue is based on your description.

[Born2late]

Thank you very much. It’s definitely not airbrushing overspray. I would guess the pH level description would better describe what I’m seeing.