Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting restoring weathered antlers?

I was given a bleached antler chandelier and restored the color using spray can Minwax. Finished out nice.

+1 on the Briwax. Works like a charm.

I use Borax to clean and de-oder. Should work in the dishwasher too but haven't tried it. Kills mildew and algae too.

If stained or bloody washing soda will take it out but may make them whiter. Use both for European mounts to help keep the skull from yellowing.

Potasium Permangnate does a nice job and you control the tone by using several diluted applications then use a Scotch bright pad to take it off the points or areas you want lighter.

Iodine will work but is yellower, good for knife handles.

The wax stains should work well over the PP for more color. Or shoe polish. Wood stains are better for the putty or plastic wood filled areas.

Haven't found anything ideal to put over the antlers. Really thinned down Tung oil is the best so far. Do this before waxing.

I realize that this thread has been dead a long time but will share anyway. Used coffee grounds are available in most homes but if you're without ask a neighbor. Anyway, take
the damp used coffee grounds and rub the antlers starting at the bases and work your way out. Do not disturb until the other antler has had the grounds rubbed on. You can usually go back k to the first antler and wipe it off with a clean cotton cloth. It is not necessary to use a lot of pressure to wipe them off; you want the "stain" to be darker in the crevices anyhow. You will probably need an old toothbrush to get the grounds out from the roughest part near the bases. If they come out too darkly then some fine steel wool can be used to lighten things up. If you want darker then simply apply another coat. When the antlers are completely dry you can use a matte finish aerosol sealer and make the old bucks memory come to life again. Take them to the camp or the office of wherever people can see them.(My wife calls our great room the "Robinson Wildlife Museum" so another rack doesn't bother her.) When someone notices them, or if you have to point them out, you get to tell the story of how you took that buck again!

Cool way to make them nicer looking

I wrote at length about this very subject 5 years ago.

http://ronkulas.proboards.com/thread/207/oh-bleached-antlers

[img]https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=69644&d=1491496484[/img][img]https://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=69647&d=1491499751[/img]

Done the natural way with pine tar and sticks to rub the antlers with.

This rack was nailed to a horizontal pole above a corral entrance and beached out. Wiped on some Ace Hardware walnut stain. Easy-Peasey.

I've used minwax golden oak to stain the antlers then used their red mahogany stain with a q-tip to color the bases. A little rubbing and blending later, those antlers look very similar to the ones that the taxidermist took care of.

I've never done it, but while reading the thread I was thinking exactly the same thing.