Cleaning an old deer mount

[GregLaROCHE]

I have an old deer mount that has been gathering dust for a number of years. I finally finished the wall where I plan to hang it. Is there anything besides vacuuming it to clean it up? I thought I might try some Murphy’s Oil soap on the antlers. Someone suggested spraying it with a flea and tick product to protect it from whatever small insects that might find their way to it.
Thanks

[lightman]

My Taxidermy buddy says to use Pledge spray furniture polish.

[MT Gianni]

Get a slice of bread with the most preservatives you can find. Wonder bread if you lived in the States. Go over the hide with it as deep as you can. It will remove dust, dirt and spread some preservatives onto the mount.

[GregLaROCHE]

My Taxidermy buddy says to use Pledge spray furniture polish.

Do you put pledge on the fur or are you just talking about the antlers?

Sliced bread sounds interesting.

[HWooldridge]

I used to hang out with a taxidermist and he cleaned up a buck mount for my grandfather many years ago. The head had been hanging on a wall in the garage for a long time and was filthy.

He used a sponge and mild baby soap to wipe everything down. He soaked the sponge and squeezed it out to damp condition, then one small wipe and repeat. Took him about 30 minutes of careful work but it was nice and clean when finished. I seem to recall he also used furniture spray on the fur after it dried out overnight, and a dab of Johnson's paste wax on the antlers (after cleaning).

I passed this mount onto one of my sons and it still looks pretty good, especially for a deer that was killed in 1925...

[contender1]

My taxidermist uses Pledge as well. He also added that you can add a clear spray lacquer to the antlers if you wish. (Cover the mount & only expose the horns.)
I have a deer I killed about 30 years ago & it looks great. It gets a cleaning every few years. A wipe down with Pledge on a rag.

[bedbugbilly]

How old is the mount? Are you talking about one of your kills or an antique mount that is quite old? Reason I ask is because i remember talking with a taxidermist years ago and IIRC, he said that a person needed to be careful in handling very old mounts as IIRC, arsenic was once used in the process.

[SSGOldfart]

I use a small paint brush to clean the hide and then a little pledge on the antlers.
no need for tick or flea spray if one finds it they won't stay long no blood to suck there.:-(

[GregLaROCHE]

How old is the mount? Are you talking about one of your kills or an antique mount that is quite old? Reason I ask is because i remember talking with a taxidermist years ago and IIRC, he said that a person needed to be careful in handling very old mounts as IIRC, arsenic was once used in the process.

It’s not one of my kills. I bought it a few years ago. As I remember, the guy selling it gave me the impression it was from around WWII. Maybe just before. If it were tanned with arsenic, how dangerous would it be? Maybe I should consider wearing gloves while cleaning it.

[bedbugbilly]

Greg - I don't remember what time era the fellow told me about arsenic being used in the process. If you could find a phone number for a couple of taxidermists that have been at it for a long time, they might be able to tell you when it was used and what to look for He did warn me about buy mounts in antique stores, etc. when the age of the mount was unknown and it was probably in the early '80s when that information was told to me - so am not sure when it was discontinued.

I had a very good friend who was like a second Dad to me who owned a hardware store in town - he had purchased it from his father when he returned home from WWII - hid father had purchased it from the gem\ntleman who had started it in the 1880s - typical small town store with high ceilings. On shelves near the ceilings were large glass dome with wood bases and inside were mounted songbirds perched on wood branches. They dated to the original owner. They were airtight, but I remember him saying that he had never disturbed them other than wiping the outside of the glass globes off as the original owner had warned him that arsenic had been used in the mounting process - I presume in the preservation of the skin/hide.

Funny thing - he had a number of customers who were DNR - several of them LE - but nobody ever mentioned them to him - and he was aware of the legalities but most knew the provenance of them. When he sold the store, they "disappeared. U never asked him what happened to them, but knowing him, I assumed that he probably talked with one of the DNR LEOs that he knew and he turned them over to them to assume possession of them and they were either destroyed or placed somewhere that could legally possess them.

[redneck1]

My brother took his first deer that he had mounted back in 1989 to dry cleaner believe it or not .
It was clean and I couldn't see where it was harmed any .

[Geezer in NH]

Rip it open, remove skull plate and antlers, mount them on a board or use them for antler projects. Not worth fixing the mount