Caring for Mounts

After an amazing adventure that ends in the collection of a trophy animal, most hunters want to have a taxidermist “Capture Your Memories”!

Here at The Wildlife Gallery we specialize in just that. However, once the taxidermy work has been completed and the trophy is proudly displayed in your home, office, or trophy room, the question often is “how do I care for this mount and clean it”? In today’s world of taxidermy there has never been more quality artists in the profession and quality products being used to preserve your trophies. Therefore, most mounts should and will last a lifetime.

The best way to keep these mounts and trophies looking in top condition just as they looked the first time you laid eyes on them is to follow a few easy steps…

Never display mounts in direct sunlight and if there is windows in your trophy room ensure they have UV treatment. This will at least minimize sun damage…
Dust and clean your mounts 2 times per year…
I like to use a very inexpensive “Swiffer” from Amazon. Always dust haired animals such as deer & elk in the same direction as the hair. With furred animals such as cats, coyotes & bears you can dust in either direction. Fluff the hair back up! Birds should be dusted in the direction of the feathers and fish in the direction of the scales…
The eyes of any mount will be glass so you can simply take a cue tip with a small amount of Windex to polish the eyes. Be sure to not get the Windex on the painted area around the eyes, because if the taxidermist used water based paints Windex could strip the color.
Horns and antlers can be cleaned up using a small amount of liquid gold furniture polish on a clean paint brush. Just brush in the polish and it will remove the dust and make them look brilliant again.

by Dan Catlin
Senior Vice President, The Wildlife Gallery

Please visit us on the web at www.thewildlifegallery.com for all your taxidermy and trophy room needs.