Chalky Antlers to New

Refinished moose antlers 

A lot of time super sun-dried chalky antlers tend to be left in the woods because of the state they are in. As a taxidermist I know there is hope for those old beat-up antlers. As a taxidermist here are some tips on how to get your old sun-dried antlers back looking good as new.

Taxidermy tools you need for this project:

·      Steel Wool

·      Sandpaper

·      Paint Brush

·      White Latex Paint

·      Plastic Wood

Step by step:

1.        Take your steel wool and scrub the antlers clean, get all the dust and grime off of the antlers.

2.        Cover the antlers with plastic wood, filling all cracks and making the surface as smooth as possible. Let it dry completely. It will go from pink to white.

3.        Take your sandpaper and want all the plastic wood smooth. Try and sand the antlers so they still have the natural grains and valleys.

4.        Once everything is sanded smooth, take your white latex paint mix it with a little water until maple syrup consistency. Then you can paint the entire antlers.

5.        Once the paint dries you can take your wood stain and start painting that on. The stain will look like it is rejecting the latex paint, and it should. Just be careful of dripping or pooling of the stain.

6.        Once the stain starts to dry and it becomes tacky you can come in with a 2nd and 3rd coat until the color of the antlers looks right.

7.        The final step in bringing your old chalky antlers back to new is taking fine steel wool and lightly brushing the antlers to take the glossiness away some.

Hopefully these taxidermy tips on how to bring old chalky antlers back to life was helpful. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Here is a video on how I transformed moose antlers that were in really rough shape back looking good as new. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMaC-Y4PQDM