whats the best way to do a euro mount?

[cackle]

find some one with beetles? or boil the skull?

[bucklucky]

Beatles or maceration (or rotting the meat in water), those are the best 2 ways to do a skull period. 

[scoyoc5]

bucklucky how long does it tak to soak it?

[bucklucky]

Michelle Nelson does the Maceration method, maybee she can shime in on this. I dont do it, I have beetles.

[bow4elk]

I soak skulls in water after completely removing as much tissue as possible.  It takes a a couple weeks but I change out the water when it gets really nasty.  I've also experimented with a loose plastic grocery sack tied around my bear skulls after soaking them for a couple days.  Put them outside in the shade and let the flys have at them.  The sack keeps the moisture in creating a gnarly, stanky greenhouse of maggot heaven!  After a week of that mess, you can pretty much hose them off and move onto degreasing.  Michelle has a detailed process.  HEY MICHELLE

[300rum]

Man..... Put'em in a pot and boil them for half a day, taking the head out and washing it off once in awhile.  Pull the cartilage out of the nose and scramble the brains out with a screw driver.  Let it dry for a couple of days and you don't have any stink or slime.  That rot in water thing doesn't sound too fun to me.  I like to leave the head natural after boiling it is not "fake" white and comes to a nice natural bone color.  The horns get a nice little patina on them also.  Make sure that the bases are out of the water if you want to save some bark that is stuck in their bases.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Boiling & Simmering flat out SUCK and you can ruin a skull quick doing it! Boiling can and will cause bone to break done especially with some of the chemical I've heard some people say they put in the watter.  It can also cause grease to set into the bone and cause discoloration

Maceration and beetles are the only way to go.  You will get far better results. 

Trim off the majority of the meat.  Scramble the brains and remove them.  Fill a 5 gallon bucket up with water.  Drop the skull in with a heater set at atleast 80 degrees.  Make sure the water covers the skull.  Let it set a week, than dump 2/3 of the water out and refill.  Do this every week till the skull is clean.  Should take 3 weeks. 

Than degrease it.  I start out wit a coupe weeks of dawn dish soap and water with a heater.   After the dawn rinse the skull and let it dry for a week to see if you have all the grease.  I usually finnish off with a week in acetone.  Bears have to be degreased with acetone.  Daw just wont cut all the grease.

One degreased let it dry a week and whiten the skull or seal as is.  Once whitened rince let dry and seal.

[bow4elk]

what do you whiten skulls with?  High % peroxide?

[Michelle_Nelson]

27% peroxide. 

[bowsandhose]

were do you get 27% peroxide?

[cackle]

well does anyone in the yakima area have some hungry beatles?

[Michelle_Nelson]

Pool Supply Store

[PolarBear]

I use 40% peroxide but you have to get it at a beauty supply.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Polar The hair supply stuff is actually ony 12% peroxide.  It says 40 volume but it's not 40%. 

[PolarBear]

Oops, my bad.  I should have known better, my wife is a hairdresser.    You get the 27% at the pool supply?  I'll have to try it.