Repairing Fish Mounts 201 



fin meets the body may be filled in with melted beeswax. The 

 wax can be smoothed with a hot tool or an electrical pencil 

 which is available at art shops. Apply a thin coat of shellac to 

 the repaired area before painting. 



If the fins or the tail are cracked between the rays and other- 

 wise not damaged severely, they can be brought back to look 

 normal by reinforcing them with cheesecloth and tissue paper. 

 On the backside of the tail or fin, glue a piece of cheesecloth of 

 the right shape. On the show side, glue a single sheet of tissue 

 paper cut to the appropriate size. The fins and tail make a 

 better appearance if their hind edges (where the rays branch 

 out) are irregular. Therefore, arrange the ragged edges (tear, 

 if necessary ) of the cheesecloth and the paper so that they will 

 meet with the irregular edges of the fins. Use a glue with some 

 glycerin in it for flexibility (formula No. 7). When the glue 

 has set, cut the excess cloth and paper away from the sides 

 of the fin. A pair of scissors will do it. Shellac the repaired 

 fins before painting. Torn or split fins can be repaired also by 

 painting them, when thoroughly dry, with liquid Celluloid, on 

 both sides. Place a piece of tissue paper on the backside and 

 paint over it with more Celluloid. White shellac may be sub- 

 stituted if liquid Celluloid is unobtainable. Incidentally, this 

 procedure may be used to reinforce the tail and fins of a freshly 

 mounted fish after the fins have dried. 



Any damaged fins on a plastic mount should also be replaced 

 with new ones. Cut the fin off close to the body with a band 

 saw or a hack saw. Use a drill to cut through the body of the 

 mount for the fin base. Cast the fins and anchor them as 

 described in Chapter 3. Fins cast in plastic can be used to re- 

 place damaged fins on any type of fish mount. 



Head 



The head of a skin mount will shrink. If it was not brought 

 out to its original contours with wax (by the original taxi- 

 dermist), it should be done. If the head has been waxed 

 upon the original mounting and is cracked, do not attempt to 



