Removing butyl from antler bases?

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I did a euro at home and forgot to back tape the butyl at the bases before boiling and now there's quite a bit of butyl residue stuck on around the bases. Any ideas to remove the butyl without affecting the color of the horns and without scratching the shit out of them?
 

fngTony

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not sure how many varieties of butyl there is but I’m familiar with the automotive stuff. Can you post a picture of skull and butyl packaging?
 
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As in construction grade butyl tape? We call that stuff bitch-a-thane cause it sticks to everything and leaves the black tar residue.
MEK, Acetone, but maybe start with rubbing alcohol in small amounts.
I think your still going to have to gently scrape with solvents but go slow and test a area first. Good luck.
 

fngTony

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Based on the butyl I’ve had to clean off car paint and interior, use butyl to remove butyl as it sticks well to itself. Assuming you don’t have anymore I’d start with dry methods first. Use a strong masking tape and use like you would to remove lint off your clothes. Rub some dirt in it, that will help dry it out by absorbing the oils in it. Use a soft to moderately stiff tooth brush to scrub it.

Chemical cleaning should be done in a lifting off not rubbing method as that smears it worse. I’d start with dish soap, then peroxide and then acetone. Any of those can be used in conjunction with the toothbrush or magic erasers (generic versions are fine), they are essentially 4000 grit sandpaper.
 
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^^ good advice from Tony, try using the same butyl tape to remove. This trick works well with duct tape residue too. I was thinking little dentist scraping tools or Xacto dipped into solvent then scrape like it’s plaque on teeth. Remove not smear.
 

fngTony

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^^ good advice from Tony, try using the same butyl tape to remove. This trick works well with duct tape residue too. I was thinking little dentist scraping tools or Xacto dipped into solvent then scrape like it’s plaque on teeth. Remove not smear.
Also some good ideas!
 
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What is the purpose of butting butyl on the bases before boiling?

I was wondering the same. I assume to protect the color on the antler bases but I use seran wrap for this purpose and it works great with no residue.


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Fitzwho

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If you use straight water and don't put any sort of soap in the water, evening boiling water will not affect the color on the bases. I try to not have a lot of water touching the antlers in general. Put the head(s) in an empty pot, then fill to just cover the skull. The only time I have ever had an issue with discoloring the bases, I had 2-3 inches of water touching them and, not thinking straight, threw in some Oxy Clean. Had to stain that whole set of antlers to fix that mistake.

If you do like to use Oxy Clean on your deer, wrap the bases in Seran Wrap first, then secure the seran with the electrical tape.

To remove the glue residue that's on there, I would maybe try a brake cleaner or a Goof-off sort of product and try not to get it on the skull. Just soak a small piece of rag and work in small spots on the back of the antler to begin with to make sure it won't remove the natural color.
 
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MuleDeerMike
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It was to protect the color/tree bark on the bases. I'll be going back to my usual saran wrap and electrical tape in the future. I'll post a Pic of the butyl and antlers here shortly, idk what brand the butyl is but it's what we use to weatherproof coax connectors on cell towers.
 
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