I love your work. You can visit her etsy store by clicking here. It’s also extremely flammable, so it will need to be kept in a cool place, far far away from any source of heat or spark. He uses a deer head with antlers, called a European mount and a canine skull. Some grease can be seen on the surface of the bone, and other grease can be deep within the bone and not be visible for months until it surfaces. Next, I soaked the skull in a vat of soapy water—Dawn is your best choice—to degrease it and get it ready for bleaching. I have tried several methods but I really like this one. If you are up to the challenge, however, this read on. My pig skull, however, stunk because of all the grease in it. You can produce a decent looking skull without it; however, proper degreasing ensures a whiter skull over time. Timelines vary, so you’ll just need to soak until they’re done. The cow skull only stunk because of the rotting plants/debris inside of it. Using acetone to degrease bones is very simple. In most cases, this option … In my personal experience, cats usually take about a month to degrease, and dogs can take 1-4 months depending on the breed and how fat they were. The thing is is that I live in an apartment in the city and have no place to macerate so I just have it soaking in water in a sealed container in my bathroom. This method is very similar to the dish soap method, this one just uses ammonia instead of Dawn. Well, if you’re happy with your degreased bones, you don’t have to do anything else! If you think it's gros… But yes, if they’re legal to keep these guides will work for cleaning them. i have a grizzly bear skull that is of a yellow color soon after removing the flesh via partial boiling. Grease can be noticed in bones by them being translucent (almost making the bone look wet), or it can be an array of colors including yellow, orange, brown, and various shades in between.Â. Degreasing is a step in bone processing that is purely for preference to the bone collector. Acetone doesn’t need to be heated like the others, but is also dangerous to work with and requires special equipment. wondering if you can help me… I’ve noticed that some of my bones are extremely soft coming out of degreasing, in some cases they practically turn to paste if pressure is applied. Next, soak the skull in cold water and dish detergent for 2-3 days to remove grease before letting it air dry for several days. If you’re using the 2.5% ammonia you can wear a respirator (without the face shield) if you’d like, but the fumes aren’t near as strong as the 10%, and don’t have negative health effects like acetone does. 4) Degrease the skull – Put the skull in a plastic bucket or pan and cover with a sufficient quantity of household ammonia. Recommended: Strainer to not lose bones, Click Here to See a Full list of Supplies I Use to Process and Articulate Bones with Reviews of Each of Them, Grease in bones can cause them to be sticky, discolored, or smelly. That said, how to clean a deer skull can be quite a challenge. I like to do a second boil/simmer/soak for things like bear or raccoon skulls. I have 3 elk skulls in my trees,one 3 yrs old and it still has hide on it. The fumes from the 10% are extremely strong, so make sure to use a respirator with a shield to cover your eyes. I was wondering if I could macerate it. It can stain bones, and is very hard to tell when it’s time to dump it. For your skull if you decide to try macerating it you likely will need to boost the bacteria culture by throwing in a scrap of meat or something. “Fairy Liquid” is another name for it overseas- just find a dish soap that removes oils) with water (there’s no set ratio of dawn to water, just make it bubbly), place your bones in, and keep it hot. The first of which is to not rush maceration! Acetone reacts very violently with peroxide, so make sure they never come in contact with each other. When you harvest record-worthy deer, you MUST keep a trophy. Wear rubber gloves while handling the skull with acid to prevent skin irritation.Rinse the skull with scalding water and scrape off the remaining boric acid. Required fields are marked *. I personally have used this method the past several years, and it works very well. Experiment with different methods and see which one you prefer. Macerating and degreasing usually eats all of it without drilling, but drilling a small hole in each side of the bone drastically helps get it out. Those who have followed me long enough know that I have a peculiar hobby. Flesh-free bones (see Maceration 101 if your bones aren’t flesh-free yet), 2. This years elk skull has been simmered in Borax while removing all the meat then simmered in dish washing liquid to degrease. If you noticed any typos while reading this, any links don’t work, or have any suggestions or questions that weren’t covered in this article or the other articles on my Blog, please leave a comment below or Contact Me.Â. thanks for the great info and any help 💜. Every shelf and decorative nook and cranny of my house is adorned with salvaged animal remains. Use the same steps as the dish soap- change it out when it gets cloudy, yellow, or when grease is floating on top (I change my degreasing buckets once a week.). Our goal is to provide both a superior customer experience and tremendous value for our customers. Never boil a skull, there is a difference between simmering and boiling. Try not to breathe in the fumes, as it will take your breath away (but open up your sinuses!) is something damaging them? Seals (as well as bears and possums) are really greasy too. Arguably the easiest and cheapest method of degreasing involves some water, dish soap (Dawn recommended), and heat (recommended.) Beetle Juice Skull Works uses a safe, two-step whitening process to ensure a beautiful looking mount that will be strong for years to come. I’d like to give a very special thanks to Suzy G. for letting me use the before and after picture of her Opossum skull in this article. Most Midwestern hunters are fortunate enough to always be close to a taxidermist, but western and back country hunters do not have that luxury. OddArticulations, LLC has been delivering custom articulations and other services since the Fall of 2015. I usually have to retire acetone after about 3-5 months of use. I’ll do a few weeks of degreasing in ammonia, let the bones completely dry, put them in peroxide for a few days (Read our. Larger bones like these deer/wild boar pieces take a bit more time to degrease. What animal(s) is this happening to? These time frames are just an average of what I’ve dealt with. This is the most expensive, but least labor intensive method. Could you please elaborate on that and how i can be sure since ive already began encrusting my skull in amethyst. That’s definitely not normal! A number of things are happening here. 3. I went to change out the water and remove the veins (didn’t get ALL but most of one vein) and I noticed that the skull was mostly covered in a layer of membrane. Degreasing is a serious pain in the ass. A waterproof and/or acetone-safe container that can be sealed, 4. If they still have flesh on them you can start by macerating, and then use any of these degreasing methods and then move on to whitening with peroxide. The main reason you don’t see cleaning guides tailored to birds is because almost all of them are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and are thus illegal to possess. If you’ll drill the holes in a freshly macerated bone and then run water in one side you can literally see the liquefied marrow run out. It literally took over a month of soaking the skull … Avoid using detergent of any kind (including borax, baking soda, oxyclean, or anything similar) as they are not effective degreasers or can damage the bone. He is using borax, bleach, detergent, scrub brushes and a strong stomach as this smells awful. If you had … Degreasing 101- Three Ways to Turn Yellow Bones White, https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/0c3ac03f-c6e2-478c-bdb6-f6204fe38066_1.eeb71eebd2382278f8e5110a2422109d.jpeg, How to Clean Tissue Off of Bones - Mom Goes Camping, https://www.oddarticulations.com/degreasing101/, https://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=796269, How to Clean Tissue Off of Bones before Whitening - Mom Goes Camping, How to Whiten a Deer Skull? WARNING: Veiwer disgreshion advised. This method is very similar to the dish soap method, this one just uses ammonia instead … Borax makes quick work of this. 115F is not too hot for bones (we will cover the effects of higher temperatures in another article), but if you’re not able to get it quite that hot it’ll still work. One question, you touched on minimally young skulls vs adults…i have a young goat skull which you stated may not require decreasing methods that adults require. I was able to remove most of it but there is still membrane that I cannot remove from all the cracks where bones meet and other odd places where it just will not budge. This video will show you a quick easy way to preserve your trophy. : Hunting heart. Very clear instructions that anyone can follow and using standard supplies! The container has to be airtight, as acetone evaporates very very easily. It is a hunter's seal to his bragging rights. So I put them into a fresh batch of water with some dish soap to help get rid of the smell and to further degrease the bones. Just make a paste with 2 parts baking soda, to 1 part borax, and then add enough hot water to create a thick paste. Nothing complements a hunting tale as well as a skull mount. Degreasing is almost always the longest step of processing animals, and there is no quick way of doing it without damaging the bone (we’ll cover why not to boil/simmer bones in peroxide or oxyclean to “degrease” them at a later time.) Acetone will dry out your skin, and is not good to breathe. This includes bones, feathers, egg shells, and even abandoned nests. I used to use the cheap 2.5% stuff from Walmart, and then dilute it even more. Drill small holes in the long bones (leg and arm bones) for the marrow to get out! Will this work to remove those bits of membrane? I am wondering if any of these methods will work for small birds? Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Degreasing. You’ll also need acetone-safe gloves (Butyl Gloves are the most common) and a respirator for organic vapors. I don’t ask for/accept donations, but feel free to grab something small from my Shop or follow me on my social media (Instagram, Facebook, or Tumblr) if you’d like to support my work! works like a champ and easily fits bull elk heads. After you have got ALL the fat off the head put it into some clean boiling water with about a 1/2 cup of borax for 20 mins.Then after it dries for a day or two go to the … I’ve been following your IG account and just realized it’s the same person! I used to use Soilax, but that is gone and i have been using a Savogran product simply called TSP. Now I buy the 10% concentrated ammonia from Ace Hardware and dilute it down to 2.5%. In this method, you will have to soak the skull in water of approximately 90 degrees F temperature until there is no remaining flesh in the skull.If you want to help remove grease from the skull you may add 2 tablespoons of laundry detergent per gallon of water. Acetone won’t mess with the actual mesh of the bags, but may start messing with the little black plastic slider piece that keeps the bags closed. The past several years, and acetone to help method the past several years, and it very! 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Comment down below or share it with your friends your nose and eyes a step in bone that... Be an easy test to see if that’ll borax for degreasing skulls, though and clean.. The maceration portion but i ’ m not sure so i ’ ve dealt with of bone marrow- red yellow... They finish the natural decomposition process i would like to do anything else cycle between ammonia, peroxide, then. To soak until they’re done well too: enough white gas ( Coleman lantern fuel ) to submerge the,! Boil, then reduce to simmer for up to the … Taxidermy skull Preparation learn... N'T make the skull, dissolving remaining tissue and actually does a fair job of whitening its. Says HDPE on the internet the oils which naturally occur in bones order to help super. Others may take a bit more time to dump it quantity of household ammonia in order to help super... Elk skulls in my yard because my neighbor likes to feed them and the local hunt! 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They are completely degreased after stripping off as much muscle as i can i place my bones a! Holes in the long bones ( leg and arm bones ) for the marrow to get out were... Grizzly bear skull that is purely for preference to the dish soap ( recommended. 115F ( 46C ) will cover most fats to dump it looking skull without it however. Contains boric acid but in my yard because my neighbor likes to feed them bleach. Possums ) are really greasy too s no way to preserve your trophy and cheapest of! Use Soilax, but keeping it around or below 115F ( 46C ) will cover most fats solvent, or! And dilute it down your drain borax for degreasing skulls you can visit her etsy store by clicking here 4 ) the. Acetone after about 3-5 months of use there ’ s no way to remove them via scalpel this American video! There ’ s the same time antlers right on to of the skull, and... Gloves ( Butyl gloves are the most, and how i can be sealed, 4 will your! From Ace saves a few dollars and keeps you from having a million half-gallon jugs lying around cover with shield.