0 Items in Your Cart

Dennis Behn - Artistic Explorations Blog



Email Subscription Sign Up



request catalog

 


Fish Fin Backing and Repair Instructions


Fish taxidermy can be the most profitable area in all of taxidermy and also the easiest. This article will discuss some ways you can do a quick and efficient job of backing your fish fins. It needs to be made clear this is for good first-class commercial taxidermy. For competition work, there are many other ways of rebuilding fins that you could never do for commercial work and make a profit.

Tape Method

Step 1: After your fish has completely dried, remove the carding material and clean the fin of any debris.

Step 2: On the backside of the fin, apply some contact cement making sure you have completely covered the leading edge of the fin. Go ahead and do all the fins and the tail.

Step 3: After the cement dries, take 3M Fin Backing Tape and apply to the fin. Press the tape against the fin to make a good bond.

Step 4:After all the fins and tail have been taped, use scissors to trim the tape off at the edge of the fins. Van Dyke's curved scissors work very well for this.

Step 5: When the fins are all trimmed to your liking apply a coating of Flexible Fin Finish over both sides of the fins. This makes very sturdy and realistic looking fins. The more coats you add the fuller your fins will look. Just make sure to let each coat dry before applying another. This process will give you very nice results.

Silk Span Method:

Step 1: When your fish is dry, remove the carding, then clean the tail and fins of debris.

Step 2: Apply Derma Grip Fish Fin Coating to the fin and then apply Silk Span to the covered area. Next, apply more fin coating over the Silk Span. Apply the fin coating just up to the edge of the fin. Now touch a match to the dry edge of the Silk Span, the dry Silk Span will burn back only to the wet edge of the fin. This leaves a very natural looking fin edge. The fin can be built up with additional coats of fin coating.

Fin Repair:

Often you will encounter damaged fins either from rough handling when the fish was caught or tails gets broken in the freezer. When setting the fin to dry, try to position them correctly. Sometimes the fins will be dented and cracked; these can be finished as normal if carded out in the proper position. On a large fin or tail with pieces missing, cover the back of the fin with contact cement and cut a piece of cardboard from a case of drinking beverage; this is the perfect thickness to fit the shape needed. Next, put a layer of contact cement on the carton as well, after the cement dries press the fin and carton together and clamp. When they have fully bonded fill in the missing area with Apoxie Sculpt, texture and trim to shape.

After the cement dries, take 3M Fin Backing Tape and apply to the fin. Press the tape against the fin to make a good bond.

As with any animal bird or fish, proper field care is a must in the final outcome of a mount.


Go Back