Antler coloring and repair -1st trys

[farmhunter]

So this winter I learned how to color antlers that are old or bleached out. I fixed up some old sheds and learned what did and didn't work. I wanted to do this because I wanted to repair some antlers and such. I didn't care if I did perfect - but I knew I'd have to play around before I could make an honest attempt, so here's a look at some of it.

one of my big oldies

a smaller one

on to a couple repairs.

this is clyde - he was a nice 9 point - my buddy took him opening day 2015 rifle, we knew him well. Was sad he'd busted off - so John said, when you get good enough - try to fix it -

and after some repairs - I didn't try to fix the older brow break, I liked that character.

and this is Gary - John took him this year -

and after the repair

If I can do it - anyone can. I just got over my fear that I had to make it perfect. Happy to offer advice to anyone thinking about it.

 

[DocHolladay]

nice

 

[Elkaddict]

Very impressive. Care to share what you used?

 

[farmhunter]

sure the antler stain is potassium permanganate that I got on Amazon. It goes on purple and dries a perfect shade of deer antler.
a little sanding and linseed oil makes the antler color and depth pop.

A matte sealer like Kryklon stops it from scratching off.

 

[farmhunter]

the antler fix - I used real tines from fresh sheds - and measured and cut them to fit close. I pinned and glued the tines and used two part epoxy to bridge the joint. Then sanding and color/ and painting (that was the hardest part). There are some tricks you learn when you try.

see before painting joints

 

[Elkaddict]

Thank you sir!

 

[Chainsaw]

Congratulations on figuring this out. Gary and Clyde came out very, very nice. And Thank You for sharing this Farmhunter. Brightening up sheds is something I thought about but just didn't know where to begin.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

Great work!

 

[Weasel]

Very nice!

 

[Bullwinkle]

Very cool

 

[Gravel Road]

Nice work! Thanks for sharing the details.