Hope someone has a majic answer for me... :) I've been doing some rattle snake skin inlays on rods. I have one due by the end of the week. All that's left to do is the inlay. The skin I got has a rather dull grey finish to it. I know all skins are different, but is there something I can do to bring out whatever natural color there is? I did a search and didn't find much.
Thanks,
Jeff

If you read the article in RodMaker, you know you have to remove the clear covering from each scale. Otherwise the colors will be muted.

.............

Jeff,

Like you said, all skins are different. I get several skins per month because of the work I do on snake skin lures. I've yet to get two that are identical. Even among cobras, each is just a slightly different shade.

The skins I get have the scales removed. Like Tom said, if yours has the scales on, removing them will bring out the color.

Where are you getting your skin from?

jeremy

I still have to get a subscription started from Rodmaker, but plan on doing it soon.

Jeremy: I'm getting my skins from a couple of dealers on "@#$%&" as they are about 1/3 the price. The smaller ones have better color, but increases the price per inch.
Are you saying to remove all the scales to bring out the color more? I have a few skins that are large that I can experiment with. The larger ones have good color and design, but not as good detail because of the size of the blanks, if you understand what I'm trying to say?
Thanks for everyones imput.... I did use the head section and tail section from one larger skin for the build I have to have done this week, it is working out better.
Jeff ~~~~~~~~~<((((><

Jeff,

I always scrape mine to remove all the scales. Be gentle so as not to rip the skin but firm enough so that the scales come off. It isn't hard and doesn't take that long. I found the sking was easier to inlay and retained the colour/pattern. I used 3-4 coats of Chromaseal CP and had no problems at all with colour.

Regards
Mark

Mark What do you scrape the skin with

Mark What do you scrape the skin with

Jeff,

Yes, the scales dull the color. They start to become a bit opaque which masks the true color of the skin. Like I said, most of the skin I get don't have the scales on them. If you post a good pictures, we can tell you if yours does indeed have the scales on it yet.

jeremy

I just finished a piece of copper head last night. The scales came off very easily just by rubbing them with my thumb. It is a bit messy. One thing I was wondering was if it would help to paint the blank under the inlay a lighter color. I know I used a light colored copper head on a brown blank and it looks very nice but definitely darker than the plain skin.

John,

All of the copperhead skins I've seen are very thin and paint will show through. Metallic gold is a nice color underneath it. I have a bunch of copperhead from a snake I killed this summer and tanned. I'm just waiting for the right rod to put it on.

jeremy

Jeremy Wagner Wrote:
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> John,
>
> All of the copperhead skins I've seen are very
> thin and paint will show through. Metallic gold
> is a nice color underneath it. I have a bunch of
> copperhead from a snake I killed this summer and
> tanned. I'm just waiting for the right rod to put
> it on.
>
> jeremy

Thanks that is what I thought . I still have about half of my snake left so I will try that on the next one.

Jeremy: I scraped the inlay I'm working on now and it helped alot. Thanks,
I did it after I had it CP'd to the blank, but still worked. Tomorrow I'll do the rest of the skins so I don't have to do them on the blank.... :)
Thanks all,
Jeff

I've only had to scrape two, but when I did, I used my magnifier to go over them and make sure I didn't miss any scales. It's not hard work, just tedious. Post some pictures when you're done!

jeremy

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> If you read the article in RodMaker, you know you
> have to remove the clear covering from each scale.
> Otherwise the colors will be muted.
>
> .............
Tom, do you remember the year the article appeared in RodMaker?

Never had a reason or desire to scrape the scales off