Has anybody tried this?



If you have, can you share what measure and ratio you used?

Just mix it,and adjust it.
Use a ph tester to get the ph correct between 1 and 2.

Start with 3 oz citric,1 lb salt and 1 gal water.
That is what I use for the citric crystals.

You could use less and add to get correct ph,so you dont waste any.

10-4

I was just buying bulk citric acid ( powder/ granular).

And pH strips

Hey Boco.
Is it just the actual ph that is important for a pickle and tan vs the product used to reach that specific ph?
I.e. is anything other than the ph thats important.

A lot of chemicals can be used to lower ph of the pickle.
Citric is preferred because it gets the acidity low enough without using a whole lot,it is safe to use compared to the harsher stuff like sulfuric,etc,and it can be nutralized easily with baking soda and disposed of safely.
Aluminum sulfate and salt is safe also,but you need more,and is closer to 2 than 1.It is safe also when nutralized.
I find with a citric acid pickle you will get more stretch to the leather than with aluminum sulfate pickle.
I have never used the harsher chemicals like sulfuric,oxalic etc.so cannot comment on the characteristics of those.

Having done both, the battery acid pickle will create more work getting the pelt stretchy and pliable.

According to Bruce Rittel, of the tanning formula game, citric doesn't quite give the plumping factor of alum or formic pickles. Citric does have a bit of a degreasing ability to it and miles safer than formic, at the pH levels we're talking about you still shouldn't bare hand any pickle solution.

Back when I first started tanning I was lucky enough to get a lot of tips from Bruce. Citric doesnt plump hides as well as some other acids but in many ways I think its better. Just leave hides in longer helps. Some of the best furs Ive ever done were pickled with vinegar.

Have to flush my tankless water heater every year. Takes four gallons of vinegar. That would work I expect.

Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone dump their citric acid pickle on their gravel driveway to kill weeds? Asking for a friend.

No, I use burnt motor oil for that. Works longer.

Yes, works good. Follow Boco's instructions

I use formic acid and lactic acid to tan beaver tails. the result is very good.

^^^^
I'd like to hear your process after the acid pickling.

Thanks guys. I’ve been following boco’s technique and using oxalic acid to get the ph.
My coon skin hides are coming out bright white. Nice.
I just wondered if anything in the chemical was important rather than just the PH.

In case anyone doesn’t know this, this acid, which you can buy cheaply in 5 lb bags, also works excellent as a boat bottom cleaner.
Mix the crystals in a garden sprayer with hot water and spray on your boat bottom after the season. It melts the algae away and leaves the bottom sparkling like new.
Here in ontario they sell a product called slimmy grimmy as a boat cleaner. It is simply oxalic acid crystals.

Acid etching is practically the final process in tanning leather.

This is roughly the scheme I use to tan beaver's tail skin.
Sorting the skins in the batch
Soaking the skins
2.Mezzing
3.Dehairing and dehairing
4.graying
5.Face and bartack cleaning
6.rinsing
7.dezoling
8 softening
9.Washing (dry cleaning)
10.piquetting
11.tanning
12.spanking
13.muffler treatment