DIY Antler Repair and Restoration - Broken Tines & 30 Years of Weather Damage 

Thank you, much appreciated!

you are very kind indeed! I'm greatful that you stopped by and had a look. I love antlers a bit too much, that's probably why I haft everything to them in my projects :) all the best my friend!

Thanks! Much appreciated!! I have made many improvements since this video...just haven't made a updated video in a while.

thanks my friend - much appreciated!

thanks Justin!

Thank you! You are too kind. I've done many since this one and have changed things a bunch . Take care and God bless my friend !

thanks butch - I have a bit of an affinity towards antlers, hopefully it's a healthy one lol.

thanks, much appreciated! I hope all is well for you!

dang, the ultimate compliment! thank you much for your comments and having a look. take care my friend!

Thanks my friend! That was definitely fun. I hope you have a great holiday season and all the best!

thanks mucho grando tim, good to hear from you! I hope all is well!

nice!! I am surprised how much i learn each time i work on a set of antlers. thanks a ton for stopping by and take care my friend!

thanks for your kind comments- much appreciated! hopefully you have a great weekend, Mike

thanks!! if you have any questions ask me along the way - that should be a fun project. don't forget to keep them indoors after you're finished lol!

Thanks! I'm glad you stopped by and had a look - take care my friend!

Thanks!! antlers are a bit of an obsession lol!

Cool! Just making it up as I go! Good luck my friend and have a good holiday season!

Thanks, much appreciated!

Was just going to say, what state is that? I wish...

You are very kind, thanks!

@@Hopewellmj I recently bought several chalk elk antlers and have been wanting to restore them. Your video is by far the best one here on RU-vid. I appreciate the effort you put into the video!

@@natespnwadventures thank you! I have changed my approach lately to spraying them with an ivory color then after it is completely dry, use a brown paint that is used for fiberglass doors. It works really good. Whitebone actually has a video on it. Goodluck my friend!

@@Hopewellmj thank you very much for the info 👍

@@natespnwadventures never forget to take a rag when painting, and carefully rub the tips to bring back the ivory. Then when it's completely dry, take a file or sandpaper block and hit all the ridges. Brings it to life!

Thank you! You are very kind my friend! Have a great day and God bless!

@@Hopewellmj you as well. I'm going to try your technique on an old dead I found. Gonna try to make a 5 point a 12, haha.

@@allhavesaidtheirprayers3434 It can be done! I have a video that I haven't edited yet called "cheating" where I take 3or4 sheds and turn them into one big one. It turned out good enough that it replaced my biggest dear (5x5) above the mantel on the fireplace. I took a block of wood and carved a skull - then stained it dark oak and it mounted it on an old piece of barn wood. let me know how it goes :)

@@Hopewellmj if you say it's possible then it is. I have been thinking about how yours turned out all day. Absolutely amazing craftsmanship. I'm very new to this hobby. Learned all I know from White Bone Creations on you tube. He goes from a raw head, to clean then whiten. Stained a few antlers. Hes good, but what you did is another level of artistry. I'm personally not a hunter, but I have always loved the beauty of the natural process of living art I guess. Its respectful to the animal I feel to take it to this next level too. The head I have is the crown and rack. Problem is the outward splay is much more narrow than I recalled. Making the tines would be doable, but the outward arcs now seems too narrow. I guess theres not really a correct way that they grow, but I want it to look natural. The two most outward forward facing tines are less 10 inches apart. Any suggestions? Again, you're great at your craft. Even the 4×4 mount was gorgeous. Thanks for any input.

@@allhavesaidtheirprayers3434 You have to feel like its great when finished regardless of what Mother nature gave you to begin with. I change most anything that bugs me - if a tine is really weak on one side, I cut it off and replace it with a better one. I am obsessed with symmetry and when I make something, it has to be balanced and symmetrical. You can buy sheds from someone who collects each spring and/or you can collect yourself which is very rewarding. I collect all sheds I find while hunting or hiking. I use most of those for my antler fixing or handles on axes and knives.

Thanks Brooksy, the horns had so many cracks and crap that the fleck helped fill them in. I got the coolest package in the mail today...wow! Bro.... that necklace is sooo cool - I can't wear cuz i can't see it with my fused neck so I have to just carry it lol! The points are absolutely stellar! So if I read the note correctly, the beads on the necklace are from the 1700's? This was one of the best friend packages I've seen - Thanks my friend, much much appreciated!

I'm glad it got there safely, you can wear it & look at it through the mirror, yes the beads are that old , I never have thought about it til just now, but a guy could Google up Hudson bay sand cast beads & see what it says, I've just gone by what elders have told me, they were traded to the NA by the barrel full, I have a little pile luckily so i like using them, back to a little more dirt, have a stellar weekend my friend

Thanks my friend - much appreciated!

Congrats!!! Whitebone creations has a video with a fiberglass paint he uses...it works great. You might want to give it a look. Thanks and Good luck my friend!

Hopewell, which paint did you use for the white base?

I now use an ivory shade that I spray on. If I can't find an ivory then I find one that is very close to it that is an off white.. Make sure you let it completely dry. For the next paint I now use a fiberglass door paint that is Brown in color and it works perfect. When I'm done with everything I paint everything with a very flat lacquer which takes all the shine off and protects the color. If you have questions, let me know and we can talk via phone.

I tried a flat pure white base with a stain that turned out badly. Im going to use and ivory paint and a different stain, but a list of materials tht you use would help a ton.

I'm not at home to look at the exact name of the paint. But I get it from home depot and it is a bare brown paint that is for fiberglass doors. Stain does not work on top of paint or white horns. Gloss ivory paint to spray on is the best for the base. I will try to remember to look at the paint when I get home later but I believe there is only one that fits that description at home depot.

Thanks!!!

Thanks my friend - much appreciated!

Thanks!!!

Yes, do not do anything (with regards to paint) I did in this video to a rack that is not weathered to death. I repaired a muley I shot who had broke 3 of his tines and stained the whole thing after I was finished so the new tines had the same color as the original. No matter how close the tines are that you use to replace the broken ones, they are always a bit different in color. I have yet to see a set of antlers (not ones bleached and cracked) that did not look better after rubbing them with Minwax Special Walnut. If they are dark and rich enough, then they don't get darker, they just stay dark and rich in color. All of that junk (sap, bark, dirt) they polish their horns with really fades over years. I clean all my horns (regarlesss if they need repair) and rub them with the stain, removing any extra, especially the tips so they stay white. Go get a set of small horns (not weathered) in the garage and stain them - you will be surprised how good they look. My advise would be to find a matching tine... close as possible, cut the base and the tine at an exact angle as shown in the video. Use a small stud to strengthen the joint. It should be a fairly easy repair and then stain the whole rack and rub off extra. Find some grooves and lines on both the base and new tine that you can line up and wow does it make it look real. It's hard to type everything but if you have any questions - kick me a PM and we will get in touch. There are a ton of YT videos as well :) I look forward to some pics!

i think the first coat of paint is that light creamy tan color so that when you sand it to bring out highlights that's what shows instead of white which is what they look like naturally. the stain I used on this is the one that I use on undamaged Horns when I want to add that deep dark color and have it last which is "special Walnut". hopefully that makes sense if not make sure you ask me some more questions :) thanks!

Its been too long... i can't remember. I think i show the cans in the video. It was a very flat rough paint for the dark texture which masked all the blending. The tips were a light tan but should have been a bit lighter. I kind of make it up as i go each time... trying to improve on the last one. 🤔 i used special walnut stain to get a rich color. They have gotton a bit shiny over the last year. I just found some lacquer that is a very flat finish and im going to hit them with it hoping to make it back to the original look. Bug me again and ill let you know how it goes. They are packed away right now as we are moving but i will try to get to them soon. Thanks for stopping by - much appreciated my friend!

Thanks man I really appreciated brotha!

I have made improvements since then... A thick base of Ivory or heirloom white rustoleum. Then Behr mission oak -stain an poly in one paint Then clear FLAT / Matte poly urethane over everything. *Make sure you have a nice thick coat of the ivory and let it completely dry. First layer of paint is thin and light. Swipe the tips to expose the Ivory as you go or it won't come off smooth. The second and maybe third layer is fun as it will give a multi color appearance and look very natural. I have not seen better at cabelas or advertised. If you have a shed to practice on you will be glad. If you mess up, paint a new Ivory layer and start over. I had to do that on my first. It's easy and looks great. If you have any questions, let me know and we can talk.

@@Hopewellmj do I need to use the behr stain and poly in one for it to hold on the spray paint?

@@colewenger6956 yes, exactly... just make sure the ivory is completey dry

Thanks my friend!

I used the J-B Weld to help make a perfect fit between a new tine that I took from other antlers and glued to the original. If you can get an elk or moose tine from someone or if you have some yourself it's a pretty easy fix to blend them. Just make sure you put a dowel in to secure the two horns together.

Hopewellmj, thanks. I ended up buying some modeling epoxy and forming the tine myself. I didn't have access to an extra one, so that worked better for me. Thanks for the response!

Nice!! do you have pics?

Hopewellmj, here you go. I created an album on Facebook. I'll probably mount the moose antlers on a plaque at some point in time. m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10212692406578103&id=1624366429

The tine that I recreated is a little light in color, hoping no one will really be able to tell. I'll fix it later if it bugs me enough.

Depending on how much weather damage and cracking.... I might paint with a light cream color from a can like I did these elk tines. I have used stain several times on different levels of weather damage and they always turn out so many different colors. You have to start out very light because none of it wipes off and it all changes color as it soaks into the horn and there's no going backwards. With a decent horn that's got no weather damage you can put it on wipe it off and it looks great but it's like staining a dry sponge when they're badly cracked and damaged. After you put a base color on it that evens all the the color of the horn, then you can try darker stains like special Walnut or Golden Oak. If it's badly damaged enough I think I would use that brown textured paint that I used in the video and then stain on top of that because it seem to hold it pretty good. There might be professionals that could answer these questions better... lol! The horns in this video turned out better than the several sets of horns I have tried different stains on with no paint. Starting with that light cream color makes it possible to wipe off stain and leave the ends polished.

Hey thanks alot. I appreciate it. Not be a stalker but what state do you live in?😂😂 Beautiful country.

😓 now your creepin me out bro! Just kidding.... I live in Morgan County, Utah.

It's real nice country

I'm guessing you're in the west ish .... since you have a muley set of horns?

Definitely I have found out you need to put that base on because you can't do it later when you need that light almond color to come out. That Base Rust-Oleum is light tan and I believe it is called almond. The textured Rust-Oleum that worked really well I don't have the can anymore but I believe it was just their basic Brown. The stain I used over the top of that textured paint is special Walnut which I use on all my horns that aren't weathered or bleached. It's fun to try things on Old beat-up sheds that you find. I just put a tine back on a set of horns and blended it with flat Brown Rust-Oleum and it turned out just a bit too dark so while it was still tacky I rubbed some gray dust from under my saw into it and it turned out perfect. then I took some of the Walnut stain and added on top of it to match the horns. I hate using paint but sometimes it seems necessary because it makes two different colored areas the exact same color which stain does not do. Sorry for the long answer but it's difficult to try and describe things that you make up as you go LOL!

No that is great stuff!! It’s such a teeth cutting process trying to get it right. I have a 180” set of MD antlers that I’m in the process of restaining. Put a coat of white paint on them to have a jumping off point, well that definitely effed me because now no stain whatsoever will soak in. That paint just repels all stain so now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just sand the paint off and start over once again. Brown paint would work but like you said, it’s just one uniform color that has no realism at all.

When you started off with white paint, was it because they were already very weathered? I remember with these elk horns first starting with white so that I could get the ends to polish but realized that even though horns look like they have white tips there actually that almond color. The tough part about sanding the antlers is you might lose the texture that's in the horns. Before you sand them, because you already have paint on you might want to First get some of that very flat Brown paint and put a coat of it on your antlers and then sprinkle whatever you want over the tacky paint and you can actually kind of rub it and it really adds different colors and texture to it. I would definitely spray a little bit of the almond all over it so that you can also sand a little bit of the brown off revealing the almond color. Now you definitely know what I mean when I say I only use paint when I absolutely have to because it's very unforgiving and repels the stain. If you have any old sheds to practice some different techniques on, I'm finding that you can usually make something work very well. You should pop over and we'll go out into the garage and find some kind of combination to get those things looking stellar!

I absolutely would but I’m in Washington state, might be a bit of a drive! I think I’ll take a little steel wool to the stain to even that all out first and then hit it with the flat brown. Did you use rattle can for that or paint it on before you rubbed the flecks in?

I had to use putty to repair the broken tine. So then I was left with horn / putty / Horn. Putty is just like paint in the sense that it repels the stain. So I was forced to use paint and so I went down to Home Depot and bought that flat Brown. Then I covered most of the horn in case it became a disaster and sprayed only a few inches. Then I realized it looked horrible and panicked and just grabbed a bunch of ground rock dust from one of my axe projects and sprinkled it all over the paint and then took a dry paint brush and brushed off the excess and to my surprise it actually looked really nice. Then I sprayed some of that almond paint into a cup and took a toothpick and lightly dipped the end of it in the paint and started connecting ridges and lines through the painted area which then made the tine look natural and hides the repaired area. Like I said before though, I avoid paint at all costs. Actually I have only used it twice... on those horrifically weathered elk horns and then on this muley rack. If you want to PM me an email address, when I get a chance I can take some pictures to give you a better idea and send them to you.

you know if you want to open up a can of woop ass, just keep it up fella! lol, ha you made me laugh. stay well my friend!

Thanks!