Whitening my deer skull

[Coop]

I decided to take this past weekend to try my hand at doing my own Euro on the whitetail I shot this past season. After boiling and getting all the good stuff off, I put it into a peroxide bath last night with half 40 vol peroxide and half water. How long do you guys recommend letting it soak in this solution to get the skull nice and pretty?

 

[bowhuntmontana]

I have soaked them for a few days with good results. Might not have to take that much time, but it worked.

 

[bonedogg]

doesn't the hydrogen peroxide react with H20?

 

[Deleted member 28227]

doesn't the hydrogen peroxide react with H20?

Just think about that one for a second.

codycoop95 you are essentially even further diluting the hydrogen peroxide by mixing it with water, you should still get a whitening effect, but a better method is to mix it with an inert powder to make it easier to work with and then apply it to the skull directly. Either commercial 'basic white' or baking soda will work. I mix 40vol with the powder till I get a paste (gravy consistency) and then soak a paper towel in the mixture I then apply this to the skull like paper mache, after the entire skull is covered I wrap it tight in plastic wrap and let it sit for a week or more. Make sure you tape the bases of the antlers first.

 

[Coop]

Thanks fellas. This is my first time trying, so I'm sure there will be a bit of a learning curve. I just wanted to get the process down a little bit before I do it on my wife's nice buck. I will see how it turns out and maybe try the paste next time.

 

[buckhunterhart]

I did a mule deer buck with commercial hair bleaching powder mixed into a slurry and pasted to the skull after wrapping the antlers with plastic wrap. The easy part was burying the skull in the garden over the winter (without even skinning it first) and letting the bugs eat away all the nasty stuff between late October to early May. A quick spray with the power washer took whatever was left off in a heartbeat.

 

[PA deer hunter]

Next time try boiling it with Oxy-Clean. 1 cup mixed in , boil for a half hour, repeat. Completely clean , and perfectly white. As good as the taxidermist’s skull i had done with beetles, for 5
bucks.

 

[Redman]

Pressure wash as much stuff as you can.
Cook it (Don't boil)
Pressure wash the rest off.
Cook again with Dawn dish soap
Rinse with cold water and inspect all the little holes
If gunk in holes clean our with small wire
Mix small amount of Vol40 with Basic White powder (Found at hair salons)
Paint skull with the paste mixture
Let set for 12-24 hours in direct sunlight if possible
Rinse with low pressure cold water
Let set in direct sunlight until dry
Spray paint with satin clear coat
DO NOT GET THE MIXTURE ON ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT TO BE BLEACHED INCLUDING YOUR SKIN!!