Plastic Ear Liners by Bill Lancaster
Whitetail Deer, 5 3/4' x 2 5/8"
Say goodbye to drumming, popping, and bad adhesion forever! Everybody's had problems with the ears of mounted specimens drumming!
Plastic ear liners are widely used in commercial and competition taxidermy, but it is not uncommon to have difficulty getting the hide to adhere to the liner. Karl Lansing of B.C. Canada has found a simple procedure that will allow you to say goodbye to bad adhesion forever.
Step 1: After removing the cartilage from the cape, place it against the ear liner and trim the liner to match. It should be trimmed a bit smaller than the cartilage, and nay nicks or odd shapes should be duplicated. Then sand the edges. A thin edge will give a good transition from liner to skin. Be sure that the fit is not too snug. If the ear liner is too big, drumming can occur when the skin shrinks as it dries.
Step 2: After preparing the plastic ear liner, draw enough lacquer thinner in a one gallon can to completely submerge it.
Step 3: Immerse the plastic ear liner in the lacquer thinner for approximately 30 seconds. This will melt and soften the outer layer of the liner.
Step 4: Remove the liner from the thinner and immediately dip it into a container of corn cob dust, fine sawdust or fine sand, all work well. Let it set for about one minute. Because the outer layer of the liner has been softened by the lacquer thinner, the dust will adhere to the plastic.
Step 5: Remove the liner, shake any excess dust back into the can, and let it dry approximately 10 minutes. This creates a set of ear liners that virtually any adhesive will stick to.
Be sure to follow label or MSDS precautions for safe lacquer thinner use.