Hey guys, I'm still relatively new to trapping and putting up fur. I've got skinning and fleshing down pretty good but have a question about the pelts afterward. I fleshed a red fox and put him on a basswood strechter to dry and once completely dry I felt the fur and it had this rough build up on it. My thought is some of the fat got on the fur when I was fleshing it, I know, I know you aren't supposed to flesh a red fox. I learned that lesson the hard way. This question can be applied to other critters too. How do you get the fat build up off of an already dried fur? Do I have to soak the whole thing again or can I wet a sponge with shampoo and wipe? I took a coon skin in the tub with shampoo and it came out beautiful! Please help!

Guess I don't understand what you mean by a rough build up? Do you mean dirt,a little fat from putting it on your greasy beam,what? I keep my beam dry by rubbing wood chips or saw dust on it.
I flesh all my fox {where they need it}
I use a fur comb and comb my fox before I skin them. This removes alot of dirt and all burrdocks. After I put them on the board {fur in} and dry them for a while they need to be turned fur out. When I do this I comb them again to remove anything that might be left on the fur. Then put back on the board.

Coon are stretched fur in. I do the same before I put them on the board{fur in} and wipe occasonally with a paper towel as they bead up with grease. After I remove from the board I comb the fur window so they look good. RD

is the fat on the edge of the fur? if so then just trim the edge of the fur. I use hardwood sawdust when I'm fleshing to soak up the liquid fat; you can always wash the fur after fleshing but use a mild soap as you don't want the fur to lose its natrual oils