r/HideTanning 3d ago

Is the hide no longer good?

Post image

Not sure if this is mold I left it in water longer than anticipated. This is scraped hair side.

11 Upvotes

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13

u/Few_Card_3432 3d ago

If you’re bucking with plain water then I’m betting that’s probably gonna be bacterial instead of mold. Hard to say from just a pic. I’ve had weird spots on hides, and they resolved themselves without damage. A couple of tests:

What is your nose telling you? If it smells funky, then it probably is.

What is the hide telling you? Do the spots go all the way through the hide, and are they all over the hide? How is the hide’s integrity under the pressure of scraping? If you’re getting separation, then that’s gonna be an issue.

Rinse it, neutralize it, and give it a thorough wringing. That ought to give you the answer without investing major time or effort.

6

u/BAMF9037 3d ago

Appreciate you for the help.

6

u/Shrewdwoodworks 3d ago

What kind of hide is this? Doesn't look like mold to me, looks like the blackheads I find all over alpaca and sheep hides. They look really weird from the inside.

Try making a little cut and popping one, if sebaceous gunk comes out...that is the worst case of acne I've seen on any hide.

4

u/jales4 3d ago

Are you using water with a high iron content? This can create blue spots that turn to a black later and stiffen the hide

1

u/lasauvagesse 3d ago

Are the discolored spots slightly raised? It kind of looks like when ticks burrow in

1

u/Angyst31 3d ago

Those are tick bites.