Pray for me.

[Carl 9.3x62]

Next time get some sodium carbonate (sal soda/washing soda) and add a bunch to the water. It turns the meat into a jelly consistency. I recommend a pressure washer or even just a spray nosel on a garden hose to spray off meat after the simmer. Youtube White Bone Creations. Lots of good how to videos.

 

[Redman]

I used satin clearcoat on my Javelina and
After a few years it turned dark brown, almost
black...never again, my next 3 pigs are
plain white and look great,

Never done a pig but have over 20 deer, coyote, and elk skulls that I do this with and never had an issue. The clear coat also helps with any loose bones or teeth.

 

[TOGIE]

i've gotten everything off and kept those nasal bones intact with nothing but a screw driver, brush, and a faucet.

no need for pressure washer.

put some rubber bands around the upper nose to keep everything real tight and together while drying and even while simmering.

 

[steveshuntn1]

You can take peroxide and baking soda and make a paste out of it for stubborn dark spots that are left. I worked with a taxidermist many many years ago and he’d coat the entire thing with it. Just be sure to keep it off the antlers or they’ll be white too.

 

[jvanhoy]

On my 3rd simmer now. Tried cleaning it off this morning with my pressure washer but still a lot of stuff hanging on and down in brain cavity. Going to simmer for a hour or so and check it.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I give mine a scoop of oxi clean and some dawn. Remove everything you can get those eyeballs out next time save yourself some work. Simmer until nose cartilage starts splitting pull, give it a good power washing and pop ear buds out with screwdriver. Be easy with the washer it will destroy them esp around the nose bones. I bust all the nose cartilage out to remove the sinus cavity easier. That is almost always were you get the stink later if it's dirty. Get it super clean and cover it with volume 40 paste let sit over night, clean check to see if it needs a second coating. I'm no pro so take it for what it's worth. Lol

This pretty much covers it. Don't spray the skull with any finish. Not necessary. Also, down the road some grease may leach out of the bone and you may need to freshen up the boiling/bleaching treatment. Then you don't want any kind of paint on it. No big deal if the bridge of nose separates. Happens all the time. Just use super glue and pull it back together with heavy plastic ties till glue sets.

 

[Tikka06]

I used the pressure washer with a 40 degree tip I believe. I added the dawn like others have said and also the 40 peroxide like was said also. Saw a video by Remi Warren {I think}, where he bungeed the skull to cinder blocks to pressure wash. Mine turned out ok, but there is guy down the road that uses beetles and charges $45 a head. Good on you for trying.

 

[jlong17]

There is a guy that lives out here by me and he does all the euros from my cousins hunting ranch. He has done thousands of heads I bet. He has a Youtube channel called Whitebone Creations, great content and humble guy. He got me on to using a product called Aqua Slik and it works great! I finish up the skulls with a simple layer of Mop n Glo. Anyways, check out his stuff, you'll certainly learn something.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

First if you use the hair dresser white peroxide, wear safety glasses with shields or even better goggles. This peroxide is a very strong oxidizer and if any gets into your eyes, they will be damaged permanently!

I also use pressure washer to clean up outside and thru skull stem. Glasses recommended or even shield to keep lovely stuff from mouth.

Once thoroughly cleaned inside and out. I let it dry in sun to dry to touch. Then let it dry completely. Paint on the hair salon peroxide, I place in sun for at least hour, but watching it closely for overall whiteness.

I use the Skull hookers for final display on barn board with an associated kill photo.
Most recent that I did last fall but need to get around to hanging later.

Some others with Skull hooker and photo.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

Finally straightened it out, bracket was skewed from get go. The photos are nice homage to the hunt I think. Hent on keft is best bud going thru hell with the Big C and he was there next morning to help track thru a Tamarack swamp. Means a lot to me.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

How long do you simmer? I’ve read anywhere from 1 1/2 to 4 hours. I’m at 1 1/2 now.

Too much! I do a half hour and spray it off carefully! I’ve also done some nasty ones, this one sat in a garage for a year and a half! I did it for a friends son; boiled for a half hour- sprayed- picked excess off with hemostats or pliers or whatever you got make sure brain matters out good. Boil and spray again if necessary just be easy boiling with all the weight on the nose. Then peroxide. Wrap the bases good and tight so it doesn’t get on the antlers- if it does stain or even brown sharpie covers it pretty damned good. Some people wipe on the paste some boil in peroxide solution. Both work equally as well IMO- but the paste is more tedious.

 

[mtmuley]

I use peroxide and the whitening powder only sold at beauty supply stores. Supposed to have a license, but tell them you are a taxidermist. Another thing, I set skulls in direct sunlight on a bright wite sheet. mtmuley

 

[CowboyLeroy]

Putting dishes soap in the water helps break down a lot of the fatty connective ttissue so the flesh strips off easier

 

[Mallardsx2]

Bury the head and put a 55 gallon drum over it. Pull from the dirt in a year. Wash it off.

I’m over boiling heads.

 

[jvanhoy]

Bury the head and put a 55 gallon drum over it. Pull from the dirt in a year. Wash it off.

I’m over boiling heads.

I’m going back to that after this one! Getting this crap out of the sinus cavity is no joke lol.

 

[jvanhoy]

Going to try again tomorrow to spray it out.

 

[Nick87]

i've gotten everything off and kept those nasal bones intact with nothing but a screw driver, brush, and a faucet.

no need for pressure washer.

put some rubber bands around the upper nose to keep everything real tight and together while drying and even while simmering.

Never thought about the rubber band. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Never thought about the rubber band. Thanks for the tip.

You can actually add the rubber band after it’s out for the water and the little bit of connective tissues between the bones dries like glue and corrects the split.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’m going back to that after this one! Getting this crap out of the sinus cavity is no joke lol.

Gentle simmer for many hours. Sinus tissue is stubborn until it hits a breaking point and then it’s like jelly, can be rinsed out easily with unpressurized water.

 

[TOGIE]

Never thought about the rubber band. Thanks for the tip.

Best trick in the book I’ve learned so far. But admittedly just passing it on from @ElkFever2 when I picked it up couple years ago