bondo for mounting a fan

[fountain2]

ive got a shadow box to build for my cousin now.  i generally do them in no hurry, and months after season goes out to ensure everythig is dry and wont smell.  i need to get on this one fairly quick.  i had him cut the fan, spread and seure, and salt it for the time being until i get it and cut wha meat off i can and bone then borax it.

ok..i see a lot that bondo them..how long does it need to sit with borax before i bondo it?  ive searched google and you tube on a pictorial on doing the bondo.  i talked with a friend today and have a general idea, but he was talking cardboard and lots of stuff.  can i just simply make a skim coat of bondo front/back..of is doing both sides necessary?, and then sand the small/thin area of bondo down?

can somebody send me to a pictorial of this...or is it like im thinking..get it dried into place and just bondo it all then sand after dry?  also i was told that the bondo will help act as an inbombing agent here and there will be no rotting or smell afterwards

[TRKYHTR]

If you are going to leave the meat on the quills you need to let it dry, unless you cover the whole thing with bondo. You can take the whole fan apart, each feather, and then you can bondo it immediately. If you just bondo the front and back when the skin is not dry it will shrink when it drys and the tail will become loose from the bondo. Hope that helps.

TRKYHTR

[bubbaboy]

mine i scrape all the meat and fat from the quills then wash the whole fan in dawn dish soap and rinse.then ill spay it with paint thinner snd rinse again gets the oil off,that is somethig a taxidermy buddy showed me.ill then lay it on a table and use a hair drier and dry the feathers,it will open up in a hurry.then put the bottom on a chew can after you get it dried and spread out as far as ya want,then add the bondo.ill also put some reg masking tape across the fan to help hold it fanned out til the bondo dries then flip it over and add bondo to the back side.

[cuttinAR]

If you borax it, the fat on the feathers should dry enough to hold the feathers in place correctly.  I use borax and cut the excess meat and fat off with an exacto knife, never used bondo and have done many fans and mounts for folks.  Just keep rotating borax and cutting meat/fat off until you get it where you want it.  While drying, use two pins or nails on a board on the outermost feathers to keep spread properly and put borax on both sides of the quills.

[stinkpickle]

Here's a decent link on the NWTF site.

http://www.nwtf.org/tips_adventures/tips.php?id=289

[opster246]

I remove all meat and fat, spray it down with Fantastic, wash with dish soap, hair dryer, pin in place and let it dry for a few weeks, then bondo the back sides getting it down between the quills. No need to sand it, it is on the back side.  I think if you are in a hurry, you could skip the long drying tme and bondo it when it is good and clean.

[fountain2]

OK guys..got the fan today and cut the bone out and removed all meat and fat I could....yea..its been killed for over a week now and this part was fun!  OK...I felt like I destroyed it for the most part...its all limp and some secondary feathers came out...mainly left the main tail feathers and next row.  I cleaned it the best I could removing all fat and meat I could.  I couldn't get between quills without destroying it I don't think.  I got all I could out and then spread it out and covered front and back very liberally with borax pressing it into the meaty parts the best I could. I have it mounded up in it now.

How long to leave it like that before I can bon do...I'm leaving Friday for Wyoming and won't be back til Tuesday night.  Will it be dry by then or should I wait longer?  Gotta make sure this one is dry enough to send back and make sure it will last once mounted. 

When I do my own, I just wait til summer time or even longer...in no rush and do them at will.  I've got about 20+ sets of beards and spurs waiting now!  Im working to get to them slowly but surely

[horsedoctor]

The more "meat & fat" you get off the looser it will be. That is a good thing. It will also dry much faster. Cover it with borax, use masking tape to pin it in position and let it dry a few days. Then use Bondo or hot glue to secure the base of the quills & you will be fine.