Natural looking European Mount

[jaeger]

Hi Guys,
For those who like to make their own European mounts,
I have been experimenting a few different methods as to how to retain a natural white/ bone colored skull. I found that the best way of prosessing the skulls is by soaking them in cold water over night with all the hide removed then boil them in plain water with no additives what soever until all the hair and meat can easily be removed from the skull. I do this under cold running water and then let it air dry. I have done 4 skulls this way so far and they all came out very nice.
Cheers Jaeger ;)

[Mr. Dean]

useless without pics..... ......... ......... ......... ........ ....... ...................

[jaeger]

I will try to post a couple of pics

[jaeger]

how do you post pictures to this site?

[jaeger]

http://s393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/chefi79/th_euromounts001-1.jpg

[jaeger]

http://s393.photobucket.com/albums/pp20/chefi79/th_euromounts004.jpg

[Huey]

Pretty small pics.... but they look bone white! Is that simply from air drying? You didn't mention anything about bleaching at all.

I'm currently working on my first two European mounts, and would love for them to be that white and clean!

[jaeger]

no bleach, just soaked in water overnight then boiled in fresh water until I was able to peel all the meat and cartilage of without any effort, keep the mount submerged in water the whole time while you are boiling it.
Cheers Jaeger

[Mr. Dean]

How old are these examples and what do you do for degreasing?

[bushpig slayer]

cool but full skull looks so much cooler like mr.deans picture.

[phoenix]

If you want to bleach your skulls the best thing to use is 35% Hydrogen Peroxide solution. It used to be you could only get it through a hairdresser but I have discovered a new supplier, you local grow-op emporium! I wash mine first with Simple Green but I hear odorless brake cleaner works really well also. Then just wrap the skull in cheesecloth, place in a plastic, glass or SS bowl (NO ALUMINUM) and soak with the H2O2 solution. Do not get any on the antlers as it will bleach them also. BE VERY CAREFUL, IF YOU GET IT ON YOUR SKIN IT WILL BURN YOU IN A SECOND, IF YOU GET IT IN YOUR EYES YOU ARE BLIND:!:. Heavy rubber gloves and eye protection are mandatory:!::!::!:. let it sit for a day or two, remove the cheesecloth and admire your skull. If it isn't totally white, rewrap and do it another couple of days.
Kim

[jaeger]

Mr.Dean:
Theese mounts are from this fall,
I dont have any problem with fat or grease on the skulls.
Cheers Jaeger

[mikethemilkman]

i am doing two mounts euro stlye should try both methods then post? hmmmmmmmm btw easier the better im lazy

[phoenix]

Over time the fat and grease left in the skull will yellow unless you degrease and bleach with H2O2 or one of the commercial bone whitening products. You can also wrap the antlers and let the skulls sun bleach for a couple of months in the summer. Never ever use chlorine bleach, it yellows the skull and you will never get it white again.
Kim

[Mr. Dean]

Over time the fat and grease left in the skull will yellow unless you degrease and bleach with H2O2 or one of the commercial bone whitening products.

Ditto. My findings too.

[jaeger]

Thank you Guys!
I will keep an eye on that.
Cheers Jaeger

[Gateholio]

I've used a degreaser form my kitchen to suck out the oils from bear skulls. Works great.

I hope to get around to doing my deer skull sometime soon.

[jaeger]

Gatehouse:
Did you put the degreaser in when you boiled the skull?

[phoenix]

I do a 15min boil with fresh water and simple green after the skull is cleaned. Then a rinse, let the skull dry and then the H2O2. I tried adding the simple green to the cleaning boil but it didn't work well. I think it just thinned the fat and grease and let it get even deeper into the skull's pores.
Kim

[DUTCHY]

Not a newbie to the site, I just never post threads. I have been doing skulls (antlered, bears and cougars) for a number of years and was lucky enough to learned from individuals who learned through trial and error the hard way. The 1st key is to get your water good and hot, boil the skull for 10-15 minutes on a high boil (to really seperate the meat and tissue from the skull) and then reduce the heat so you get a slow bubbling boil. Use OXY CLEAN in your boiling water! It is one of the key ingredient to producing white skulls. After 45 minutes or so, remove the skull and pressure wash all the loose material off. Replace the water in your pot with clean water and repeat the process. I find that if you boil skulls any longer than that they start to separate, teeth fall out, and most of the inner nasal cavity starts to deteriorate. Once that process has been completed, I will start the peroxide bathing process which can take three-five days with mild concentrations (35% peroxide diluted in water).

The idea is to get the full skull submerbed in boiling water. If it has antlers, wrap the bases, burrs, and up past the brow tines really good with electrical tape and then duct tape. Sounds like alot of work but this will prevent your horns from discolouring during the boiling process.

I will try and post some pictures within the next day or two of my past skulls to see what you guys think. Eurpoean skulls and bear/cougar skulls are a lot of work and if you don't have the patience and or a good 4-5 hours of uniterupted time don't do it because you will be disappointed with the results.

[phoenix]

I've heard that the OXY CLEAN works really well. I'll have to try it next time. Why do you dilute the 35% H2O2?
Kim