Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Degrease Taxidermy

Taxidermy is an involved process that can yield realistic and long-lasting results when done correctly. Each stage is integral for its own reason, such as degreasing. Most animals produce natural oils and fats in order to maintain a smooth coat or shiny skin. These fats and oils are cleaned by the animal when they are alive to keep from building up excess grease. Once you have the removed the skin, the oils and fats will stay on the skins until dealt with. Therefore degreasing is crucial so your finished piece can look presentable instead of matted and greasy.

Things You'll Need

Containers
Animal skins
Taxidermy degreasing solvent

Instructions

- 1
  Place the skins into a container and pour a degreasing solvent over them. Add enough solvent to completely submerge the skins.
- 2
  Agitate the skins occasionally for 30 to 60 minutes while they soak in the solvent. Allow an extra hour of soaking for greasy fish and leave extremely large pieces to degrease overnight.
- 3
  Fill a second container with water and transfer the soaked skins to the clean water. Work the water into the skin to clean the degreaser out of the piece.
- 4
  Lift the skins out of the clean water and rinse them thoroughly with more water until they run clear. Leave the skins to air out and dry before moving them to storage or using them for a project.

Other Hobbies