# Driftwood Prep



## bucksrus (Oct 9, 2006)

Question for you guys. I picked up a piece of driftwood from Fletchers Pond to mount my 30 inch 10.10# from the Detroit River walleye on. It's really dry and a little bridle in spots with some peeling. I've heard of leaving it like it is or power washing (which I think would take some of the peeling off and sort of concerns me a bit) and applying varnish first. Which route or any others do you recommend? Thanks in advance!


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## lastflighttaxidermy (Jul 12, 2010)

Personally id leave as is with no varnish Just give it to the taxi and let him put it together for ya


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

I use driftwood with some fish and I pick my own from the shore of Lake Superior. It's smooth as a baby's butt from rolling over and over in sandy waves. I always seal it with either marine spar varnish or Bullseye brand shellac in the aerosol can. Sealing the wood darkens it from a dull gray to a rich brown and gives it somewhat of a wet look. It also makes cleaning(dusting) a lot easier. Good luck.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

the taxi that did my 14 1/2 inch perch would not use any of the drift wood that I have. It had to be some that had bought that was treated or some thing??


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

multibeard said:


> the taxi that did my 14 1/2 inch perch would not use any of the drift wood that I have. It had to be some that had bought that was treated or some thing??


That would raise a *red flag* to me. If YOUR driftwood was solid (No rot, splitting, etc.) and it complimented your perch (Not too big or awkward) it could have/should have been used. "Treated" driftwood is usually not driftwood at all, but rather sand-blasted western juniper. I've used solid DRIFTwood for decades without any problems. If your taxidermist bought the driftwood, the cost of it + shipping + _perhaps_ a premium percentage was passed on to you. I could be wrong but a taxidermist refusing to use customer driftwood with a mounted fish could really be for profit reasons.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

DFJISH said:


> That would raise a *red flag* to me. If YOUR driftwood was solid (No rot, splitting, etc.) and it complimented your perch (Not too big or awkward) it could have/should have been used. "Treated" driftwood is usually not driftwood at all, but rather sand-blasted western juniper. I've used solid DRIFTwood for decades without any problems. If your taxidermist bought the driftwood, the cost of it + shipping + _perhaps_ a premium percentage was passed on to you. I could be wrong but a taxidermist refusing to use customer driftwood with a mounted fish could really be for profit reasons.


That is kinda what I thought. The fish is just hanging on the wall. I have not talked to a taxidermist friend to see what he says as the original taxi implied some thing about having pests in my driftwood.


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## Hookineyezz (Sep 11, 2008)

The guy who used to mount my ducks used to just put driftwood in a big ole garbage can and spray Raid bug killer in there and put the lid on....no pests!


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## bucksrus (Oct 9, 2006)

Here is the final product!


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