Antler Restoration

Earlier this spring I found a unique deer antler while I was shed hunting. It is a very non-typical and heavy antler with lots of character. But, it looked like it had been laying out in the weather for a couple years and it was bleached completely white.


While the antler looks pretty cool just the way it is, I decided I wanted to try to bring it back to life. I used my airbrush to give the antler a good base coat in an off-white bone color. Then I took a small paintbrush and some acrylic paints and went to work.

I used a fresh antler as reference and tried to make the base of the antler darker and fade it into a slightly lighter color toward the end.

After I got it all painted I removed the paint from the high spots on the antler to give it some highlights and make it look more realistic.

I kept removing paint until I got the desired look. Then I touched up some areas until I got it just right. Finally, I put a coat of flat clear sealer on it to protect the color and to add a little sheen to the finish. Here is the finished antler. I like the way it turned out and think it will look even better sitting on the coffee table.