Picked up crow hunting last year at the tail end of the season and have been lurking on this forum ever since, decided it was time to finally post. Bought a dozen Tanglefree dekes last year and had decent success so in my excitement for season to start here (Nov 1) I picked up another dozen a few weeks ago on sale. After much reading on CB and other sites I decided to flock them, know the topic has been discussed but thought I would share my experience. Will probably end up using 6-8 of the dekes for tree sentries. It took me and a buddy about 3 hours from start to finish. Couldn't imagine trying to do it by myself, especially the flocking part. Purchased the 100 goose head flocking kit off eBay for $25, $25 in painting supplies, and $120 in the dekes. At $15-$20 each for pre flocked me and the wallet couldn't be more happier with how the project turned out.
Step 1: 80 grit sandpaper to rough everything up. Step 2: Throughly clean with Acetone and let dry. Step 3: Tape all beaks with painters tape. Step 4: Paint with Rustoleum flat black oil base paint. First step in the painting process was to use a small 1/2" brush to trim out around the eyes and beak, then switched to 2" brush for the rest of the body. First few the paint was a little thin, really started lathering it on and it made a huge difference in the appearance. Step 5: Apply flocking with a flour sifter. One of us held the decoy inside a large tupperware tub while the other ran the sifter. We also found it did a better job on the head to apply flocking by hand a pat into paint. Step 6: Enjoy cold beverages
I have had good luck with touching up flocking with spray paint. When they start to get a little ragged from use just shoot 'em with some flat black. It really brings them back to life.
