skull mount help

[JKC]

I have a few buck skulls hanging in a tree. Will they still look good skull mounted, do I boil them? peroxide them? Both, nether?

 

[Mike Belt]

How long have they been there? I've only done fresh skulls but I'd think with the boil and peroxide they'd come white. Cleaning them may be trickier if everything has dried on them. Otherwise I'd boil and scrape, soak in peroxide, and see what happens.

 

[JKC]

I will try that, thanks! Some one year most more.

 

[AT Hiker]

Grease spots will be your concern once you get all that dried skin off. Before you whiten try to degrease them with dawn and very hot water. Change out the dawn/water concoction every day until no grease floats to the top. Get your water close to a simmer, take it off the heat, add a lot of dawn and then the skull. Once it cools overnight there should be grease floating. If not, get a hair hose and a tub full of hot soapy water. Blow the hair hose all in the skull to "boil" the grease out of the bones. Add the skull back to a fresh batch of dawn/water and see what ya got. May take a few times or it may never get rid of the grease spots (assuming you have them or even care). Then whiten with peroxide.

There, my contribution on double top secret taxidermy tips. Classifieds unveiled. [emoji12]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JKC]

Thanks , AT

 

[dirtyhands]

How much peroxide does it typically take to cover a skull?

 

[AT Hiker]

*air hose, not "hair hose" [emoji53]

I paint on 40volume perixode cream, maybe a 1/4 cup for a big skull. Let it sit for a couple days, maybe place it in the sun to let it pop white. Wash it again, let it dry then seal with clear matte finish spray paint.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mike Belt]

Something I do with my peroxide... I take gauze and wrap the skull (make sure you stay below the burrs of the antler). Then I paint on the peroxide and sit it in a pan to soak for a couple of days repainting a couple more times. This assures the peroxide is in constant contact with the skull. Those disposable aluminum turkey pans are perfect for sitting the skull in during this process.

 

[REM7]

I use a little Oxi-Clean to fresh water in boiling process to help with the degreasing and cleaning, had great success with that method thus far

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

Something I do with my peroxide... I take gauze and wrap the skull (make sure you stay below the burrs of the antler). Then I paint on the peroxide and sit it in a pan to soak for a couple of days repainting a couple more times. This assures the peroxide is in constant contact with the skull. Those disposable aluminum turkey pans are perfect for sitting the skull in during this process.

how white are they,do they hold the color

 

[megalomaniac]

Low Boil first with Dawn added to the water (old heads will be fine to boil as well... I did one a few years ago I found dead during turkey season). How long to boil depends on the age of the buck. I boil until the nose bones become a little loose. Young bucks is usually only 4 hours, mature bucks 6 hours (sometimes longer). Monitor hourly or so during this process and add more Dawn if oil/grease is collecting at the top of the water. Do not overboil. Pick off all the meat, scrape off the tendon attachments at the base of the skull, pull out the eyes, sling the head to clean the mucosa off the nasal turbinates. I use a stick to scramble the brain and rinse it out the base of the skull. If the meat is difficult to remove, I'll reboil it for another hour or two after removing the majority.

After boiling/ cleaning, I prefer to bleach mine with the peroxide solution rather than the cream. I feel it does a better job on all the hard to reach areas. It's a little more expensive than the paste/ cream... but worth it IMO. I buy the most concentrated gallon jug of the stuff I can find at Sally's, then dilute down with water to around 10% peroxide. I submerge the skull in the solution for 36 hours or so, taking care to make sure the solution does not come up onto the antlers themselves. I'll then remove from the solution, and paint only the top of the skull and pedicles with the peroxide cream and let that sit for another 24 hours. Rinse off and let dry in the sun.

I do not clear coat my skulls, as I prefer a more natural (chalky bone) look to them.

 

[Mike Belt]

RCH...I do use a very light coat of clear coat finish sprayed on my racks. They come out good and white and are just as white today as the day I did them and hung them on the wall and a couple are 5 years old. I doubt mine will ever lose their color.

 

[catman529]

I don't know how good they will look if they've been in a tree for a year. I skin and boil them fresh. I've boiled a rotted one that I found in a thicket and it came out pretty good, but still never could bleach it 100%


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tasaman]

I had one sitting on the ground for a year and a half. Soaked it for a little while and pulled the skin right off. It did end up with onedark spot on the nose bridge.

 

[parkerxbowhunter]

I had a few like that I ended up painting them a flat off white

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Duck dogn]

Get you some aluminum foil wrap base of antlers up to above water level in big pot, boil with 1 bottle peroxide rest water! ( Aluminum foil needs to be mashed in crevices pretty good) this keeps true antler color ! Boil for about an hour or as needed take out let dry good chalky white ! Fresh kill can be done the same way when fat starts rolling up take out of water pressure wash clean! This is messy but turns out well.

 

[lightsareout]

Get you some aluminum foil wrap base of antlers up to above water level in big pot, boil with 1 bottle peroxide rest water! ( Aluminum foil needs to be mashed in crevices pretty good) this keeps true antler color ! Boil for about an hour or as needed take out let dry good chalky white ! Fresh kill can be done the same way when fat starts rolling up take out of water pressure wash clean! This is messy but turns out well.

what does the aluminum foil accomplish? can't really imagine its a water tight seal.

 

[Mike Belt]

I mentioned peroxide soaking the skull in a disposable aluminum turkey pan. They work great on the boiling water part also. A skull sits just right in one of these pans with only a slight risk of fouling the base of the antlers. I spoon the boiling water in the pan over the top of the skull. This way you can place it right under the burr and that spoon also serves as a scraper.

 

[Triple_H]

I hung one in a tree (my best Buck to date) and squirrels ate half the antlers :bash:

 

[Duck dogn]

Not real sure how but one I did without aluminum foil bleached horns white with solution I said! Then a guy said wrap tight in foil I did and water was up on horns and didnt bleach them not sure why but it does work! :tu: