peroxide process on skulls

[bisonhunter1]

okay, I've don an additional months worth od skull soaking in water with dawn detergent to get the grese out. Now I need to do the peroxide treatment, but the cost of the liquid 40 volume would be a killer, so I need to do a paste of it. The Basic White I found at the beauty supply store is of a bleach base and according to the slaes gal, I would end up with a bleach type paste, even if mixed with 40 volume peroxide. Is this the same type bleach as good old cholorx type which I know is BAD juju for skull work. What else could I use to make the paste with the 40 volume peroxide and how long does it need to stay on the skull, I'm thinking less than 24 hours.

[Michelle_Nelson]

40 Volume Hair Developer is what you need.  It is only 12% peroxide.  It will work fine but you may need to do it 2x.  To keep it from drying out as fast wrap the skull in plastic wrap.

[sharpeshooter]

You guys make bleaching skulls too complicated. Two bottles of hudrogen peroxide for two bucks at the grocery store. Fill up your crab cooker and fill with water and peroxide to base of horns. I tape off my horns at base to prevent discoloration if you boil for more than couple of hours. It will come out as white as the 75 dollars you would pay a taxidermists to do. I do one or two every year and they still look great after ten years.

[Michelle_Nelson]

No comment.

[KNOPHISH]

Oxy clean works well also.

[kckrawler]

No comment.

If you don't mind Michelle, I'd actually like to hear what a professional has to say about that method so I don't make the same mistakes. What are the pros/cons of doing it that way? I have several deer skulls that I've boiled in the past to get the meat off but have been very unsuccessful at getting them really clean...or I end up trashing the delicate bones in the nose and ruin it anyways...I've heard about the hydrogin peroxide method but have never given it a shot myself 

[shedcrazy]

I'm working on my 4th bear skull right now. I paid a local taxi for my first one, and I didn't get my lower jaw back, and the nasal cavaty was just gutted. So that turned me from paying any one for them. Mine have all turned out way better than that first one! Lots of soaking to remove grease, then peroxide to whiten. It's fun and easy to do, and saves yourself some dough

[bucklucky]

Sounds like you had a hacksidermist do your skull 

[Miles]

Who needs peroxide when the sun will do it for free?  I just peel the cape off, stick it on a branch, and nature does the rest.   I think mine turn out pretty well when you consider the lack of work involved.  Another week or two and this sucker is ready for the wall.

[bucklucky]

Wow miles that is a great skull, can you explain further how your process works  Definately better than maceration and degreasing , maybee I should go to your method 

[shedcrazy]

Sounds like you had a hacksidermist do your skull 

Your not kidding! It was a whole freakin nightmare with my rug also.

[Michelle_Nelson]

There is a reason why a LOT of Taxidermists don't "boil" skulls.  It's because the long exposure to extreme heat damages the bone and will cause teeth to crack.  For a lot of people by the time they are done picking away all the meat the delicate nasal bones break down and fall apart.  Boiling a Skull in water does very little for the degreasing.  Some of the chemicals people use in with the water just makes the bones break down worse and does nothing or very little for the degreasing.  So the grease gets set into the bone.
 
I charge $150 to just clean and whiten a Deer Skull.  If I wanted to I could set my crab cooker up and boil 20+ Deer or Bear Skulls in one day and make $3000+.  Sure would be an easy way to make some quick $$.  I use to boil my skulls when I first started out like most taxidermists did for the first few years. Now I use Maceration.  Maybe I just don't know what I am doing after 9 years.
 
There are still taxidermists that boil there skulls and get decent results.  Though I can still tell the difference.  If you really don't care enough about a skull to pay someone to do it for you and you just want to be able to hang it on your wall than boiling it will get the job done.  It still won't look as good as if a competent taxidermist did it. 
   
For you experianced boilers please tell me the results you got the last time you did a bobcat skull?


 




 

[Miles]

Wow miles that is a great skull, can you explain further how your process works  Definately better than maceration and degreasing , maybee I should go to your method 

Well, It's all about picking the right branch and getting the skull to sit at the required angle.  I tend to look for a branch that is facing south and about 3-4 feet high.  I place the skull there by jamming the stick in to the back of the skull, then the process begins.  It's ok and sometimes preferable to have nearby branches that allow access for bugs and such to climb on and go to work.  It's important to watch the weather channel prior to starting this procedure to ensure there will be plenty of sunshine in the days to come. The best part it's absolutely free and turns out amazing. The sun doesn't get the skull too hot so cracking the of teeth is a non-issue. The winds tend to carry the grease away so no degreasing is required.  I would definitely recommend the natural process over maceration or boiling.  It's the "latest and greatest" so to speak.  Start doing your skulls this way and watch your profit margins go through the roof.

[boneaddict]

I heard doublelung has some dermatasid beetles at his house.  Those work pretty well if you have a couple of them.  I had a colony but my neighbor pissed me off so I dumped them under his house.   He's been trying to figure out what the smell is for weeks.  I heard him talking to my other neighbor. 

[boneaddict]

the last skull I boiled was on my moms oven/grill.   I think it was a bobcat skull, and maybe a beaver and coyote.    Funny thing was as Idabooner had been doing Miles method and I got inpatient.    Did I mention I tried to cover up the smell by adding cinamon to the sauce.   

[Miles]

Ok, on a more serious note... I boil my own skulls.  I watch the boil and make sure it doesn't get too carried away, more of a simmer than a boil.  I have not had any problems with teeth cracking or the long nasal bones falling out.  Here are a couple that I boiled up in an afternoon last year to ship them back east.  In these photos I have not done any whitening, just quickly cleaned them up.  I don't think they turned out too bad for a quick cleaning prior to shipment.   It didn't cost me anything, and whitening them after they are at this stage is not too difficult.

[shedcrazy]

Looks good to me Miles.

[boneaddict]

Looks good Miles

[TikkaT3-270Shortmag]

Get Beatles!!!!!!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=46.742027,-122.996965

[Michelle_Nelson]

Beetles and Maceration will give you the same results.  The only real difference is you don't have to care or feed beetles in the off season.

[bucklucky]

I had beetles , they work great but Im liking the maceration a bit better. But either one of those 2 methods I think are the best. Boiling works and can get a descent skull for the do it yourselfer. I boiled for years with OK resuls, end results were not even close to beetles or maceration though. Even the boiled skulls will still need to be degreased before whitening . When I get my picture back I will show you a few skulls I have that were boiled and at the time were completely whitee till the grease leached through 

[shedcrazy]

What is maceration??

[bucklucky]

Michelle tought me all there is to know about this subject so here is her thread on maceration.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,16008.msg181209.html#msg181209

[DoubleJ]

What about an ant hill?

[bucklucky]

What about an ant hill?

No

[DoubleJ]

A simple no isn't gonna cut it.  Why not?  And I'm assuming here that I can keep the animals off of it.

[turkey slayer]

Maceration is the only way to do skulls. It mite take longer then boiling but the skulls come out 100% better looking. Maceration help the degressing progress and the skulls come out so much cleaner. I use 27 1/2% peroxide on all mt skulls. I let the skulls site in peroxide for 2 day with a LED lite over them.

[Michelle_Nelson]

A simple no isn't gonna cut it.  Why not?  And I'm assuming here that I can keep the animals off of it.

Well you can either macerate one in 7 days?  Than degrease and whiten.
 
or
 
You can wait a month or more for the ants to clean the skull.  Than degrease it (which will probably take longer) and then whiten.  Hopefully you can find a reliable colony of ants to clean your skull before the sun bleaches the antlers or dries it out like beef jerky.  Sitting out in the weather is also hard on a skull
 
Either way your going to need a fish tank heater.
 
 

[bucklucky]

A simple no isn't gonna cut it.  Why not?  And I'm assuming here that I can keep the animals off of it.

No    That answers the question clearly  Ants are slow and wont clean the skull completely , well at least that is what clients of mine have told me 

[NW-GSP]

A simple no isn't gonna cut it.  Why not?  And I'm assuming here that I can keep the animals off of it.

Well you can either macerate one in 7 days?  Than degrease and whiten.
 
or
 
You can wait a month or more for the ants to clean the skull.  Than degrease it (which will probably take longer) and then whiten.  Hopefully you can find a reliable colony of ants to clean your skull before the sun bleaches the antlers or dries it out like beef jerky.  Sitting out in the weather is also hard on a skull
 
Either way your going to need a fish tank heater.

that bobcat skull looks amazing!

[butcher98951]

beetles are the best way to go,, they do the best job and taxis dont want you to know that because they are cheap to buy....

[Michelle_Nelson]

LOL, yeah thats one of our big secrets.  
 
Not to mention they are like keeping pets.  You have to feed them when you run out of skulls, water them, keep them cool in the summer, warm in the winter, keep flies from getting in there container and ham beetles.  They might be cheap but they are a pain in the butt.
 
Like a lot of people that might only have 1 or 2 skulls to clean a year beetles can be a pain in the butt to keep.
 

[PolarBear]

Beetles and Maceration will give you the same results.  The only real difference is you don't have to care or feed beetles in the off season.

Maceration is the way to go!  I will NEVER boil another skull after using this method. 

[bobcat]

Wow, nice whitetail! Did you kill it too, or did you just do the maceration?

[bucklucky]

beetles are the best way to go,, they do the best job and taxis dont want you to know that because they are cheap to buy....

Obviousely you did not read my earlier post 

[seth30]

This post is becoming very similar to one of my favorite movies, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.   Love the bobcat skull!!!

[TheHunt]

Michelle and I just had this conversation yesterday.