cleaning a skull
11-22-2002, 06:31 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Adirondack Moutains USA Member since sept/02
Posts: 1,639
cleaning a skull
I found a nice nine point deer skull this summer while out fishing a river with my son. The question I have is how can I clean it up without messing it up? I have the complete head. I have it hanging on my cabin doorway I'ld like to whiten it up a bit. I was also wondering if I should spray some clear coat paint on it to help preserve it?
11-22-2002, 07:06 AM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 26,274
RE: cleaning a skull
I dont know if this will work but this is how I clean coral for aquariums. Remove as much soft tissue as possible, Then soak the scull in a solution of Bleach and water. Make it pretty strong. Let it soak for about a week. Keep refreshing the bleach. periodically remove more tissue.
Dont know if it will work. If you try it let me know if it worked for a skull.
I have cleaned a skull but in a strange way. I set it out in the shade during the summer on a bunch of wire. I left it out most of the summer, the wire keep animals from getting it. At the end of the summer it was clean and bleached.
If you could find some, get carrion beattles and put a few on it in a closed container and let them do their work.
dont know if I helped at all, guess I just needed to type.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" Martin Luther King Jr.
Dont know if it will work. If you try it let me know if it worked for a skull.
I have cleaned a skull but in a strange way. I set it out in the shade during the summer on a bunch of wire. I left it out most of the summer, the wire keep animals from getting it. At the end of the summer it was clean and bleached.
If you could find some, get carrion beattles and put a few on it in a closed container and let them do their work.
dont know if I helped at all, guess I just needed to type.<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" Martin Luther King Jr.
11-22-2002, 07:50 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nanuet New York USA
Posts: 70
RE: cleaning a skull
Do not soak in bleach solution.
Is it pretty clean (skin, meat, etc...), it sounds like it is. If so, pick up some bandage gauze and high volume peroxide (the stuff hairdressers use, not the other stuff). Wrap the skull with the gauze and then carefully wet it down. Be sure the gauze is not touching the antlers. Do not get it on the antlers, your skin, eyes, etc...very dangerous. You can buy a whitening kit from Cabelas, but this is essentially what comes in it.
Use trial and error to get the appropriate shade of white, but it will get very white.
Is it pretty clean (skin, meat, etc...), it sounds like it is. If so, pick up some bandage gauze and high volume peroxide (the stuff hairdressers use, not the other stuff). Wrap the skull with the gauze and then carefully wet it down. Be sure the gauze is not touching the antlers. Do not get it on the antlers, your skin, eyes, etc...very dangerous. You can buy a whitening kit from Cabelas, but this is essentially what comes in it.
Use trial and error to get the appropriate shade of white, but it will get very white.
11-22-2002, 08:00 AM
#4
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: land of the Lilliputians, In the state of insanity
Posts: 26,274
RE: cleaning a skull
I didnt think of peroxide, very good suggestion. The bleach suggestion was a shot in the dark. It works well for calcites I guess it probable wouldnt be real good for calcium carbonates.
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" Martin Luther King Jr.
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" Martin Luther King Jr.
11-22-2002, 08:09 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: East Central ILLinois USA
Posts: 1,595
RE: cleaning a skull
I have soaked in a very mild solution of bleach water only overnight but if you use a strong amount of bleach it will begin to eat at the bone and damage the skull, when it drys the bone will begin to flake off, I found out through trial and error. This one of the skull mounts I have done
I prefer to paint my skull white with a acrylic paint and then seal them with a clear semi glosspolyurethane finsh this will seal the skull from absorbing and airborne smoke ,dirt or air borne grease etc, and makes for easy cleaning, you can just dust and wipe clean.
I prefer to paint my skull white with a acrylic paint and then seal them with a clear semi glosspolyurethane finsh this will seal the skull from absorbing and airborne smoke ,dirt or air borne grease etc, and makes for easy cleaning, you can just dust and wipe clean.
11-22-2002, 08:11 AM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 1,086
RE: cleaning a skull
Is there anything that whitens the rack itself? Someone said don't touch the peroxide to the rack. I found a skull along a stream bank, and the tips of the rack were buried in mud, everything else is pretty much bleached out naturally but the tips are dark brown almost black. Any suggestions for this?
11-22-2002, 09:16 AM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: East Central ILLinois USA
Posts: 1,595
RE: cleaning a skull
I dont mess with the rack itself unless I have to, I did find through trial and error that when I was soaking the skull in the bleach water solution and the antlers slipped down in the solution it bleached out the antler bases to a bone yellow color.
11-22-2002, 10:00 AM
#8
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Adirondack Moutains USA Member since sept/02
Posts: 1,639
RE: cleaning a skull
Lady forge That looks great. Thanks everyone for your suggestions I think I'll try the peroxide if that doesn't get it to the color I want I'll paint it like Lady forge said. Thanks again.