Skull dark after boiling?!?!

duckduckgoose

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So I boiled my sons first bow kill at the same time as mine. Only difference is his was shot in September and mine was recent. His came out of simmer pot way dark. Anything I can do with it before whitening? Will it still whiten up ok? I've got a picture but not sure how to post it. Thanks
 


duckduckgoose

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I did add dish soap and some borax to simmer pot....my buck came out white as can be, his quite yellow and even darker around nose and teeth. Should I soak in dawn for some days? Oxyclean?
 

scrotcaster

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boil the shit out of it with dawn dish soap, and can try hit it with the pressure washer. and soak in hydrogen proxide
 

toddy

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Use a glass baking dish and brush on peroxide regularly with a foam paint brush.
 


db-2

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simmer with dawn dish soap not boil as it tends to hurt the bone. If you have peroxide put in the pot along with the dawn.
can get the higher peroxide on internet or maybe by going to the beauty saloon. Let simmer for a few days.
But i guess that is what you did so not sure now what to do except maybe leave in pot longer.
If all else fails maybe paint as some have done but for me it seems to cheapen the skull. I have used i believe sodium made into a paste with peroxide and cover with wrap and in time it gets better.

And then if that fails maybe get a cape and mount the deer. Cost would be just for mount in excess of $500 and up to $1,200 plus cape. I am lucky as i can either take my head to a guy with bugs and he does an excellent job or one that mounts in exchange for what i do for him. db
 

PrairieGhost

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Soak in peroxide. I put the skull in a two gallon zip lock freezer bag. I put that in a battery box and pour corn, or sand, or kitty litter around the outside. This dispaces much of the peroxide so zI get by with 2.5 quarts instead of five or six quarts.

Edit: Be careful not to soak the antlers. Use a stip of cloth to wick peroxide up between the antlers.
 
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jr2280

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Now I don’t boil my skulls, I macerate them. I have not had any turn black but hear of this when boiling. Am I lucky or is that just something that happens when boiling? I have had small skulls buried that turned black and a good long degrease (like 2 months in dawn water with bucket heater) and it pretty much takes care of it once whitened with peroxide.
 

wjschmaltz

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If it’s yellow and obviously grease, then peroxide and/or pressure washing won’t do a thing at this stage. Like others stated, soak it in dawn/borax/oxy clean water. Warm or hot if possible but not necessary. Certainly no need to boil. I have a roaster just for skulls I use on low. I had a grizzly skull that took 2 months of degreasing - changing the water weekly. Once the skull actually feels dry and not greasy when you run your finger across it, then it’s time for the peroxide step.
 

duckduckgoose

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Thanks for the help here....I'm going to give it some extra soak time to degrease and see how it turns out.
 


JMF

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Now I don’t boil my skulls, I macerate them. I have not had any turn black but hear of this when boiling. Am I lucky or is that just something that happens when boiling? I have had small skulls buried that turned black and a good long degrease (like 2 months in dawn water with bucket heater) and it pretty much takes care of it once whitened with peroxide.

Please explain your maceration process.
 

aron

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Do not boil the skulls, just simmer or warm water. Also if you add peroxide or oxyclean to the water, be careful as it will also whiten the antlers. Dark or yellow is still grease in the skull. The longer you wait before cleaning the skulls, the longer it takes to degrease as in the case where your sons was shot in September vs yours being more recent.

If all the flesh is off, degrease using some dawn dishsoap in warm water and keep changing the water. It is ok for the skull to sit in the water for extended time. When degreased, you can then whiten it with either adding a high concentration peroxide to the water or take the skull out and apply a peroxide/whitening powder then wrap in saran wrap or a bag for a few days.
 

TFX 186

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Great info on his thread. My boys want to figure this out so I have been lining up the stuff to start this process. Ordered a burner and lined up a pot to get started. Keep the good info coming as I am soaking it in.
Not to highjack the thread but I have a bunch of horns that were just cut off at the forehead of the deer. They are cleaned off but were never whitened. I was just wondering if anyone has done any kind of mount with these?
Thanks fellas!

Fish On!
 

KDM

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For the horns, just screw them onto plywood in the configuration you want, put plaster of paris over the bone up to the burrs on the antlers. Shape the p.o.p. to resemble the forehead of the deer and let dry. Sand down the burrs of p.o.p. and clean out any that got onto the horns. Remove the horns and put whatever color leather or felt over the plaster and afix with glue in the back. Add a hanger in the back with a couple small nails and put on the wall. If you want to get fancy, put the whole thing on a nice stained plaque with some screws in the back and then hang on the wall. I'll try to post some pics of those that we have on the wall a bit later. Good Luck!!!
 


jr2280

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My process goes as such: skin head and place in 5 gal bucket with bucket heater. Change water every two days for first 4 days then every three days for next six days. Skull will be completely clean minus some graves wax. Let dry and clean wax. Then place back in bucket with heater, dawn water and I add some ammonia changing water in bucket when it gets cloudy. I do this until water is clean for an entire week. Degrease of most deer take 2 months. I had one that was 6 weeks and one three months. After degrease let dry completely clean wax off, and peroxide with 40 vol hair cream and wrap in plastic wrap and place in sun. Do this for a couple days. Some have only needed one peroxide session some two. They come out nice. Easy just takes time.
 

JMF

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My process goes as such: skin head and place in 5 gal bucket with bucket heater. Change water every two days for first 4 days then every three days for next six days. Skull will be completely clean minus some graves wax. Let dry and clean wax. Then place back in bucket with heater, dawn water and I add some ammonia changing water in bucket when it gets cloudy. I do this until water is clean for an entire week. Degrease of most deer take 2 months. I had one that was 6 weeks and one three months. After degrease let dry completely clean wax off, and peroxide with 40 vol hair cream and wrap in plastic wrap and place in sun. Do this for a couple days. Some have only needed one peroxide session some two. They come out nice. Easy just takes time.

Thanks. Do you break out the nose cartilage or does the maceration clean it up good enough so that it doesnt stink?
 

jr2280

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Thanks. Do you break out the nose cartilage or does the maceration clean it up good enough so that it doesnt stink?
Everything is clean. No cartilage left. Bacteria turns it all to liquid mush. There is a little stink when meat is still on but after 10 days it’s not bad. After degrease next to no smell once dry.
 

duckduckgoose

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Just an update...I put the skull back in low simmer with lots of dawn dish soap and borax last night for 3 hours. Then I left warm bucket in garage overnight. It did help some, but skull still has a strange color. I have never had this problem before. Today I dried them and to whiten I make a paste with Clairol Basic White Powder and Clairol 40 liquid. Has worked very well in the past. On the degreasing .... I have always done the short 2 hour simmer for deer skulls and have had good results. Overtime I may find yellowing will begin to occur? I have done Coyote, Fox, fisher, and coon skulls as well. Through reading online, it sounds like they are alot more difficult to degrease. Those skulls I have soaked in acetone for several weeks.
 

KDM

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Here is some of the displays we've done. The blue and red ones are plain felt and the ones with the plaques are in leather with rope. They might give you some ideas on how to enjoy your trophies. The tag goes in the back. Good Luck!!

DSC04006.jpg

DSC04011.jpg

DSC04013.jpg

DSC04014.jpg
 


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