Maybe this is blasphemous, but…

People are always worried about their trophies getting sun bleached so trophy rooms often seem to end up windowless and dreary.

How about this for a thought process (it could be terribly misguided, I’m just asking)?

What if a person put a decent number of windows in their trophy room to let in some natural light, keeping in mind to minimize the amount of direct light on trophies. Then when/if the trophies get too sun bleached have the taxidermist clean them up and repaint as necessary. Maybe even on a 5 or 10 year maintenance basis.

I’m sure it would be expensive and wouldn’t look as good as new, but could a decent job be done?

Kyler

The short answer is no.

There are certainly things that can be touched up and cleaned every few years but the loss of color and the change in color of the hair can not be satisfactorily restored.

An air brush is a great tool but it is used to blend a lot more than it is used to paint. Painting the hair is never good.

The best option if you want widows is to use the glass that filters the light. Also you can have plenty of windows and glass doors down low and keep your trophies up high.

Most people do not notice mounts fading because it happens so slowly over time. If you take photos of the mounts when they are new you will be able to see the fading over time. If you do not care about what the mounts look like after you die, I would not worry too much about the sun light.

Also it depends on the animals. Hang your bufffalo in the area of the room that gets the sunlight and keep your bongo in the shade. It would be much easier to refinish a buffalo and make it look good. A lot of them do not have much hair left anyway.


Thinking about sun lights long term effects is good but I do not think a trophy room has to be completely free from natural light.

Hello Kyler
Great thread.
Some of your ideas are good. Regular maintenance to your trophys such as cleaning and touch up will help make them look good longer. It is my wish to mount your trophys to stay beautiful as long as possible. I use proven and new techniques to help but the the person that collected the trophy needs to help because once it leaves our studio we as taxidermists have no control of the mount or the conditions its being displayed in. As far as cost on mounts to help maintain them I don't charge anything for mounts I do cleaning and minor touch up to as long as you have it and as long as I'm mentally and physically able to do it but you must get the mount back to my studio or pay me to come to you. I don't know the policy of other taxidermists.
Sunlight damages more mounts than anything else. It does not have to be direct sunlight, indirect sunlight will fade mounts. I have seen first hand damage from sunlight that has reflected off of furniture and fading mounts and other objects.
A person will stay very busy moving mounts around to avoid direct sunlight alone because of the normal rise and fall of the sun everyday and also the different angles of the sun during the year.
I'm like you I would prefer a trophy room with windows but one must way the cost of the pleasant light or damage to your trophys.
You can tint hair that is faded by various means that looks ok but that depends on what species it is.You may only be able to "paint" a mount so many times before starts making the hair look matted or very fake looking.
There may be hope to help protect your trophys and still have windows and thats through the use of UV filter films that you can put on your window glass. I'm searching for sources now and will pass this along.
This is just thoughts and practices of myself for 34 years as a taxidermist.
Hope this helps.

Kyler I'm still gathering info on the special project you want.

Great information!

Thanks.

Let me know on the "Special Project", I'm still interested.

Kyler

direct sunlight damages everything,so use some cloth material type white blinds that block alot of the sun but still leave the sunshine in to brighten your life.

I am building a pretty nice house right now. My trophy room will be 32x31 with 14 foot ceilings. I am not going to build it with zero windows - I am sure I can recape a lot of trophies for 100K, and I would imagine that is what I would lose in resale value if I built that room without windows.

Besides, I really don't like trophy rooms without windows. If the room is a basement, great; basements don't have windows. But a normal room without windows doesn't look right to me. But you know, to each his own.

Good thread Kyler.

this part of the hotest weather im at and my trophy room has less windows but the dust prob i cant resist,also the khudu shoulder mount i have the ears tip is leaving its place what kinda glue should i use for itplease advise.kind regards

In answer to the sunlight and fading in a trophy room. 3M makes a window film like the ones used to blackout a cars windows that is 100% clear but blocks 99% of all Ultra Violet light. It stops the fading problem and allow's all the natural light you could want. It retails for about $2.50 per square foot and goes on like wall paper.

Markhor the skin on your kudu ears can be repaired with super glue gel. Make sure its gel because the other kind may run all over everything. Squeeze the skin back together. If the earliner inside the ear extends beyond the skin you may need to trim it some. You may can trim it with scissors then put the super glue gel on one edge of the skin and squeeze the edge back together and your done.

foxfire thanks for the info.

Good topic Kyler, and great follow-up's guys, input from the pros is always appreciated!

My "Africa room" was originally built as our family/great room and is typical of what is built today - high ceiling, lots of windows above the fireplace, slider to the covered porch, open to the 2nd floor and window to the kitchen, etc. Not the ideal "trophy room", but it works and is somewhat multipurpose. We had the 3M filters put on the high windows, and the more-prized animals out of the filtered sunlight (just in case) on the walls, up high and in the corners. Room stays cooler in the summer too, and obviously less fade on the few pieces of furniture that remain. The only mount that receives any direct sunlight thru the filter is a sacrificial hartebeest, but in ~4 years he seems okay, or at least I have not noticed any changes.

Bill C

Sounds like you got it covered

Bill C,

Thanks for the explanation. That sounds like a great way to do it.

By the way... have we seen pictures of that trophy room??????

I know you posted pictures of your hyena and leopard at a show but speaking for us wannabe's we'd love to see the whole compilation.

Kyler

thankx wildlife artist,kind regards

quote:

Originally posted by Kyler Hamann:By the way... have we seen pictures of that trophy room??????

With or without the 12 foot Christmas tree? Christmas morning in Africa!

Two other things to note: Some artificial lights, especially fluoescent, can emit UV as well. Your local museum curator should be able to tell you where to get slip-on UV filters for the tubes. Also, the same issues of light damage to mounts apply to antiques, old paper, leather, wood and textiles. So your trophy room, properly lit and warmed/cooled, may be the best place in your home to conserve your family heirlooms and other treasures.

Hi Guys:

Foxfire is on the right track. I used a special tint film that covers the windows, it is museum quality. If you look at my trophy room pictures further down in this forum, look at the big windows behind the giraffe. They are coated with the special film, I also have my skylight done.

It wasn't cheap, for the two big windows and a 4' X 4' skylight it was about $300.00 installed. You can have the beauty of big windows with natural sun light with absolutely no ulta violet light damage or fading.

Regards.. Jim P.

quote:

Originally posted by PAHunter:
Hi Guys:

Foxfire is on the right track. I used a special tint film that covers the windows, it is museum quality. If you look at my trophy room pictures further down in this forum, look at the big windows behind the giraffe. They are coated with the special film, I also have my skylight done.

It wasn't cheap, for the two big windows and a 4' X 4' skylight it was about $300.00 installed. You can have the beauty of big windows with natural sun light with absolutely no ulta violet light damage or fading.

Regards.. Jim P.

Gentlemen,

I have been a manufacturers rep for Glass Coating products for 22 years...including 3M, Madico, Courtaulds and FTI.

Please be aware that "Window Film" degrades as the pigment utilized to absorb the UV spectrum is simply a dye which is impreganated into the polyester and laminating adhesives of the window film.

Also, fading is caused by UV Light 30%, Visible Light 30%, Heat 30% and hunidity 10%. These are not exact numbers but are approximate when estimating a products effectivness in reducing fading.

This is not to say that Window films are not an option for "reducing" fading but that they do just that... "Reduce"...They DO NOT eliminate fading. A combination Solar film will reduce up to 70% of Solar Energy and 99.99% of UV light while still allowing a a 70% visible light transmission(almost clear to the human eye). A side benefit of course is better viewing light,reduced glare and energy cost savings.
The average price installed for such a product would range from $6-$10 per square foot of glass area.

The absolute best way to avoid fading of your Trophies would be to purchase a small swatch of burgundy or red cloth. Then place the cloth in a permanent location next to the windows and cover a portion of the cloth. Periodically check the cloth and when you see that the color is fading from the exposed cloth you then know that you must remove and replace your Window Film.

Note also that these same films can be purchased in heavier gauge Security versions which are utilized for Anti-Terrorism (my position), Anti-Intrusion(UL 972) and Wind Storm Protection(Dade County and IBC Codes).

For more information You may visit:

http://www.madico.com/safety_hurricane.asp[
www.cpfilms.com
www.3mScotchtint.com

I hope this helps,

Thanks Bruz, that's great information.

Can you give a rough time line on how long these films should provide protection?

6 months, 5 years, 20 years????
i.e. $10 per sq. foot every six months might make a dark trophy room look more attractive.

Kyler

quote:

Originally posted by Kyler Hamann:
Thanks Bruz, that's great information.

Can you give a rough time line on how long these films should provide protection?

6 months, 5 years, 20 years????
i.e. $10 per sq. foot every six months might make a dark trophy room look more attractive.

Kyler

Kyler,

A quality product will normally drop by a factor of 5% per year. So if you are initially receiving 99.9% protection from UV then you will be at approximately 75% in 5 years and so forth.

The product which protects the Louvre, The Met,the US Bill of Rights etc.. and is approved for Lupus is CLS200 XSR from Madico. This product contains a much higher concentration of UV inhibitors and therefore offers a much higher intial protection range (Still 99.9% but from 300-500nm) as well as a much improved performance curve.

Thanks,

Bruz

Again, thanks for the info.

Kyler

I would think that depending upon your roof line yiu might consider building a clerestory. This way the light is at the top of the room and will diffuse pretty well, depending, of course, upon the distance between the bottom of the clerestory and the mounts.

Nothing looks good in a hole.

quote:

Nothing looks good in a hole.

depends on what's in the hole, and where you are standing... lol!