Has anyone used Van Dykes Lutan-F Tanning Kit?

gobblergetter

gobblergetter

Member
This would be my first tanning project. Is the Van Dykes Lutan-F Tanning Kit the way to go? I've read some reviews on this product which state the instructions are sometimes confusing or unclear. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.
 
my cat is in the pickle as we speak. i got the bobcat over 3 weeks ago, skinned, fleshed and salted. went in the VD pickle and has been out 3 more times to flesh. still is good in the VD pickle. the kit does not come with enough PH test strips so stop by the pool place or walmart and pick some up. the kit is very easy to use and i will finish the tanning process this saturday. finding 12-14 hours to tan and then having to take it out for final processing is hard. the kit is easy to use and the instructions are great. keep it in the pickle for as long as you like as long as the ph is 1.5-2.0 and it will stay in there forever! after pickle you neutralize, then i wash the pelts in dawn and water, rinse a couple of times and then do the tan. start breaking stretching after the tan and then throw it in the dryer with no heat and a bunch of tennis shoes or tennis balls and it will beat the crap out of it and soften it up nice. it is a good kit and i will keep buying it. i have enough left over for many more small pelts.
 
Hey thanks roadkill - I too, have a cat I'd like to try tanning. Thanks for the advice on the extra ph strips. I'll cross my fingers I don't screw it up!
 
ancient chinese secret: flesh, flesh, pickle, pickle, neutralize, wash in dawn, flesh, flesh, pickle, neutralize, dawn, tan
and i'm serious. the neutralize and then the dawn wash really makes that membrane easy to remove, but your fingers will get sore picking it off. i don't have fleshing beams or a fleshing knife, or a stretcher so this is all on improvised equipment. im sure it would be a lot easier with the proper tools. i am not going to skin enough to warrant spending the money on them. one thing i used is a razor window scraper. if you put it flat on the skin and draw toward you it shaves like a razor blade, well it is one. just dont cut the skin. one problem with this cat is that i froze it whole until i decided what to do with it. that made peeling him a little harder. hope this helps. i learned some lessons from this first skin job!
 
roadkill, my cat is frozen as well. Just waiting on the tanning kit to arrive and some time off here around the holidays to devote to the "process". I have none of the proper tools either, but what did you anchor the hide too so you could flesh it? I assume a very dull razor blade is used in your window scraper? Or were you using just the scraper tool without the blade?
Connie
 
i havent bought the kit but do use the lutan. i havent had any slip yet out of 30+ pelts. make sure to turn the ears, lips, feet and tail or the pickle may not penetrate and the hair will slip. especially the ears. when fleshing the upper lip watch for the whisker folicles. scraping too will cause them to slip. here is a few days worth of reading

http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php
 


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