Antler Restoration Project

[CaliWoodsman]

I’ve had these two sets of antlers sitting next to the house for I believe 6 and 7 years now. It’s been eating at me that I let them get in such bad shape. While they’re no trophy according to B&C, they each meant a great deal to me. So with a little time to kill I set out to try to bring them back to life.

Here’s the starting point - bleached white, except for the skull caps:



First things first, in to a pot to simmer. First simmered with some Dawn soap, then new water with some Oxiclean. They came out looking a lot better:



Let it dry, then hit it with a coat of Briwax in Mid-brown. Here’s the first coat on one antler:

And both antlers with one coat:


The color seemed pretty good after one coat, but I wanted a second coat to try to protect and preserve the antlers as much as possible. The second coat darkened them up considerably:


Let them sit for a couple days, then hit them with some steel wool which lightened them right up to just about perfect:



Honestly I’m surprised how well they turned out. Their color is just about spot on. They’re now moving into the garage next to a few euro mounts.

 

[SoloWilderness]

Looks good, I have a few elk racks that I have been wanting to do this with, from when I didn't know any better than to put them in the yard for the bugs to clean. Did you put a sealer coat or anything else on them to finish them, or just the wax?

 

[CaliWoodsman]

Looks good, I have a few elk racks that I have been wanting to do this with, from when I didn't know any better than to put them in the yard for the bugs to clean. Did you put a sealer coat or anything else on them to finish them, or just the wax?

Just the Briwax. A sealer coat might be a good idea though. Would need to find something that’s not glossy.

 

[CaliWoodsman]

Any recommendations on something to seal the antlers with?

 

[LongWayAround]

Those look really good.

I have tried a few with mixture of coffee ground and spruce bark, etcetera but have never come up with a finished product that I liked.

 

[long hunter]

looks good

 

[aubrian95]

Very nice job


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[aubrian95]

If the sealer gave to much sheen you could hit them with steel wool again


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[snowymtnwolf]

Wow. Impressed. Thot bleached antlers were always “gone”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CaliWoodsman]

A little follow up - re-coloring these antlers was a test run for another project.

Several years ago, a rushed follow up shot on a beautiful California 3x3 resulted in a one antlered deer. Live and learn.


A few years with the intact antler sitting outside and the shot off antler kept inside and this is what I was left with:



I did a bad job of documenting the process this time, but basically I left the right antler out for a bit to “catch up” on bleaching. Cut the left antler off the skull plate. Resculpted a base for the right antler using some Antler Sculpt. Then attached both to a Mountain Mike’s skull plate and re-colored using Briwax. Overall the antler sculpt isn’t perfect, nor is the color, but it’s good enough for the garage. With a little more time and attention to detail, I’m sure I could have come up with a better end product. Looks good in the garage next to my euro CA 3x3!

 

[Weldor]

I have heard beeswax and stain mixed together works, anybody tried it? Great job on the restoration of the broken 3x3

 

[CaliWoodsman]

I have heard beeswax and stain mixed together works, anybody tried it? Great job on the restoration of the broken 3x3

That’s basically what the Briwax that I used is. I suppose you could dial in the color a bit more if you mixed it yourself.

 

[long hunter]

Looks ok to me, good save there.

 

[Hunting_Oregon]

A little follow up - re-coloring these antlers was a test run for another project.

Several years ago, a rushed follow up shot on a beautiful California 3x3 resulted in a one antlered deer. Live and learn.
View attachment 532406

A few years with the intact antler sitting outside and the shot off antler kept inside and this is what I was left with:
View attachment 532409
View attachment 532411

I did a bad job of documenting the process this time, but basically I left the right antler out for a bit to “catch up” on bleaching. Cut the left antler off the skull plate. Resculpted a base for the right antler using some Antler Sculpt. Then attached both to a Mountain Mike’s skull plate and re-colored using Briwax. Overall the antler sculpt isn’t perfect, nor is the color, but it’s good enough for the garage. With a little more time and attention to detail, I’m sure I could have come up with a better end product. Looks good in the garage next to my euro CA 3x3!

View attachment 532414
View attachment 532415

Looks really good. I'm sure it was a tedious task.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Any recommendations on something to seal the antlers with?

I know I'm late to the party on this one but since it got bumped back up, I've seen some pretty good results of sealing with a matte water based urethane. Moist potting soil also works good to color with because it's not so aggressively permanent, and you can really put detail into it with a stiff bristled toothbrush. I plan to do a few of my own, if I ever have time..

 

[Goldrums]

Those look great!
This might be a little off topic. I had a euro mount done with formaldehyde to preserve the velvet. The taxidermist didn't use beetles because he said they would eat the velvet. Now, three years later, there is oil kind of seeping out of the skull making it yellow in spots. Is there a way to restore the skull cap to white with velvet antlers?

 

[Harvey_NW]

Those look great!
This might be a little off topic. I had a euro mount done with formaldehyde to preserve the velvet. The taxidermist didn't use beetles because he said they would eat the velvet. Now, three years later, there is oil kind of seeping out of the skull making it yellow in spots. Is there a way to restore the skull cap to white with velvet antlers?

That's natural grease in the bone, really hard to fully get rid of. You can try soaking it in acetone and rebleaching it, or just rebleaching it sometimes does a pretty good job. You can get volume 40 hydrogen peroxide at your local salon or salon supply store, and my preference is to boil the skull for a couple minutes and paint the volume 40 paste on directly, and then set it in the sun for a couple days, and then rinse it clean. If you don't want to risk messing up the velvet you can heat up the volume 40 and add a little boiling water before painting it on. Both have worked pretty well for me in the past.

 

[Goldrums]

That's natural grease in the bone, really hard to fully get rid of. You can try soaking it in acetone and rebleaching it, or just rebleaching it sometimes does a pretty good job. You can get volume 40 hydrogen peroxide at your local salon or salon supply store, and my preference is to boil the skull for a couple minutes and paint the volume 40 paste on directly, and then set it in the sun for a couple days, and then rinse it clean. If you don't want to risk messing up the velvet you can heat up the volume 40 and add a little boiling water before painting it on. Both have worked pretty well for me in the past.

Thanks! I'll give it a try. When I get to it, I'll post before and after pics - If it works...

 

[CaliWoodsman]

I know I'm late to the party on this one but since it got bumped back up, I've seen some pretty good results of sealing with a matte water based urethane. Moist potting soil also works good to color with because it's not so aggressively permanent, and you can really put detail into it with a stiff bristled toothbrush. I plan to do a few of my own, if I ever have time..

I’ve heard for the best color, color it with whatever the deer did. Dirt, rubbing on bark, etc. I just didn’t feel like investing the time for that. Maybe next time!