I've got a nice rack form a friend of mine that had been left outside for quite a while and has been bleached a bit by the sun. Is there any way to get a natural color back into them? Someone suggested trying brown shoe polish but I don't know how that would work. Has anyone had any success recoloring a bleached rack?

Howdy!

I've redone numerous bleached racks over the years with degrees of success depending on the condition of the antler.

If an antler is still in pretty good shape, whatever color you put on it will stay "on" it and not soak in. If it's dried out or has started cracking, whatever you put on is will soak "into" it. If color soaks "into" it, i.e. stain, shoe polish, etc., you will not be able to get the different hues to make it look authentic. In the wild, antlers are actually a white or ivory color with color applied to them from dried blood during velvet shedding, and whatever types of trees or bushes the deer uses his antlers on. If someone doesn't believe this, take a fresh set of antlers and use a dishwashing brush, soap, and hot water to scrub them. They will come out very white.

The first thing I would put on it is boiled linseed oil. If the antler is good, the linseed oil can be easily wiped off. But, if the antler soaks it up, it will darken what is already there without actually changing the color (even though the boiled linseed oil is basically clear). Many times the application of linseed oil brings the antler back to look good without any other color needed.

Plus, if the linseed oil soaks in and it is still not quite dark enough, let it dry a few days and it will seal the antler and give a good base for the color to go "on" it.

If you still need more color use the small plastic bottles of water based paint you can get at Hobby Lobby for craft work. Thin it down to be used in an airbrush and put a light coat of several different colors of brown on the antler using shades based on antlers from other deer from the same area. Let it dry about 30 minutes or so.

Use 0000 steel wool to rub the antler down, which will take the paint off in varying layers and exposes color mixtures you can't achieve by blending with a brush. High spots (bumps, etc.) should have lighter areas of color - sometimes even the bone color. The deeper areas would have the darker colors. Finally, coat it with a light coat of Krylon Acrylic Sealer which will give the antler just the right amount of sheen.

This sounds like it would look horrible but actually looks perfect when done correctly.

Good luck.

JDS

Condies crystals.
Applies with a toothbrush, 1 coat at a time until desired colour depth is achieved.
Steel wool then used to rub back where needed.

i have colored a few bleached out one with thinned down wood stain,just find you another old antler to practice thinning on till you get it right.here's a set i did about 5yrs ago on my first deer mount
http://www.hunt101.com/img/241983.jpg

In the past I've used a solution of potassium permanganate in water. Seems to work fairly well unless the antler is too weathered--too porous. Good luck!

Yes Habu, thats what we call condies crystals.
it gives a natural colour to the antlers.

potasium permangate is widely used for first aid, in aquariums , ponds, pet washes & human foot soaks. It can be added to drinking water in small amounts for certain ailments in pets so it isnt anymore toxic than a majority of products suggested.

Yes alot of the things we use everyday in our homes can be harmful and deadly. Ammonia or Acetone for example.
I've heard that even the petol i pump into my car every few days is a carcenogenic.
A few grains of condies crystals added to water isnt enough to worry about.
Im not say you have to use it, i just prefer the natural look it gives.

I used shoe polish on several white rack I had it worked very well.I used a redish browninh mixture.It has lasted for years.