How To Clean A Skull For European Mount

Clean and Whiten Skulls for a Euro Mount

European mounting (or skull mounting) your trophies tin can be a cost constructive culling to taxidermy whist nonetheless maintaining a professional person and clean expect to your trophy room or shed. Creating a European (euro) mount is very unproblematic and can be done by anyone. By post-obit a few simple steps your trophy will expect as professional equally one from a taxidermy studio.

At that place are several methods and techniques that tin can be used to create a white oil free skull. The process I follow was adult over many years through trial and error. I withal make minor adjustments to the procedure depending on the type of skull.

I learnt very early on that bleach should be avoided at all costs. It is very aggressive and will erode the bone. It will give a brilliant white finish, but at a price, the skull will start to fleck and expect unnatural. It volition deteriorate to a flaky mess over a curt menstruation of fourth dimension. This method should exist avoided if you want to present and preserve your trophies for years to come up.

There is no limit to what you tin can euro mount. I have mounted deer, tahr, chamois, buffalo, scrub bulls, wild dogs, goats, pigs, foxes and recently a bird.

To make a professional person euro mount I use the following materials and tools:

Humid pot
Gurney 1400 psi power caput
1L forty vol peroxide – obtained from any hair supplies like Priceline
Saucepan for soaking the skull after humid
Strong detergent (for degreasing the skull) - Dish washing liquid
Washing powder
Screw commuter

Additional items to help speed upwardly the process:

Aquarium heater 150w (used to speed upwards the accept degreasing process)
Commercial cleaning grade peroxide (this is a chemical and should be used in compliance with chemical handling regulations)

Cleaning the skull for humid: Later obtaining your trophy be sure to get all the pare and every bit much flesh off as possible. This will e'er exist easier when the animal is yet warm, but can exist washed at any betoken afterwards the harvest, information technology only makes the boil out a little easier. I tend to practice this as shortly equally possible to attempt and forestall whatever extra grease entering the bone of the skull.

Offset Boiling the skull out: Whilst this is a very simple part of the procedure, it is a step that can brand or intermission the final look of your euro mount. Yous should avoid boing the skull out at high temperature. This volition dry the bone out and drive the grease deeper inside the skull.

Add 300ml of detergent to the pot and one-half a cup of washing powder from the laundry. Do this each time you modify the water in the boiling pot.

A slow boil/simmer will draw more than grease out. In the initial boil I attempt and remove as much grease as possible. I am happy for the skull to simmer for 4-six hours. I elevation the h2o upwards over the 24-hour interval, but have learnt, more fourth dimension hither equals less time degreasing and a whiter skull without any grease patches that can appear over time.

First force per unit area cleaning after initial boil: Later a couple of hours in the pot remove the skull and requite information technology an initial pressure clean. Gurney as much meat off as possible then remove any loose teeth for gluing at the end. Be sure not to use also much pressure on the skull, you but desire enough to make clean the at present cooked meat off without blowing any bone out.

Remove the ear bone: Removing the ear bone is a fundamental to keeping the skull grease costless. In that location is a lot of grease effectually this

bone and by removing this bone you lot will likewise proceeds easier admission to the brain cavity. To remove the ear bones place a screw commuter in the ear canal and lever back and frontward. See diagram.

Brain removal: I generally cheat here and just blow it out with the pressure level washer. A few minutes with the pressure washer inside the cavity volition have information technology completely clean after the initial boil. People besides use coat hangers or screwdrivers to remove the now cooked brain.

Second boil of the skull: Now that the skull is relatively make clean, change the water to a fresh pot and add together some other 300ml of detergent. Put the skull dorsum in to simmer to cook off the remaining meat and drag out more grease from the skull.

This can take another few hours (or equally long as you tin can manage). You volition encounter grease forming on pinnacle of the pot with the aid of the detergent. The longer the simmer the better.

Second pressure launder: The skull should now exist ready for the last pressure wash. Ensure that all visible meat is now blown off and that the brain cavity is clear of cloth. At that place are 2 small pockets in the bottom of the eye socket that should be blasted as quite ofttimes meat gets trapped hither.

Degreasing: At present that you skull is visibly clean information technology is fourth dimension to soak the skull and macerate the last remaining hidden meat and remove the terminal of the grease of the skull. In summer, just having the skull in a saucepan of water in the sun with 300ml of

detergent is enough.

Over the winter months I add an aquarium heater to speed the procedure up. You may get a petty smell coming from this bucket, but if y'all experience too much, pressure level blast the head and change the water to a fresh batch.

I generally leave the skulls for a few weeks here and just let mother-nature exercise the work. If I have the gurney out for another skull I will pull the skull out and requite it a blast in all the minor nasal passages and behind the teeth. See diagram.

This procedure for greasy skulls similar pigs may take longer and when no further grease is gathered on the top of the bucket information technology is gear up for its concluding pressure clean.

Terminal pressure clean: At this stage your skull should exist grease and meat free. One last boom with the force per unit area washer will ensure that all hidden fabric is removed for a scent gratis skull.

Whitening with the use of peroxide: The whitening procedure is all-time performed when the skull is heated, on a warm 24-hour interval or next to the fire. Peroxide is activated with oestrus and then the hotter the bone is the better the peroxide volition penetrate and the faster it volition perform.

If y'all place the 40vol peroxide on a cold skull you volition see that the reaction is slow. You see little bubbles equally information technology stays just like a liquid paste. Now put a skull in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes then apply the peroxide. Yous will see the peroxide instantly react and bubble upward on the bone.

If you are impatient, similar me, you tin can heat the skull and paint a good thick layer over the whole head leaving no section uncovered.

Let the peroxide react and subsequently an hour or so heat the skull once more. Paint another layer on the skull. Repeat this procedure until the desired tone of white is reached.

Alternatively, you can cover the skull in peroxide and and so rap the skull in glad wrap and place in the sun. Repeat this process until you achieve the desired colour.

Alternate whitening with liquid peroxide: I will not go too far into this. Rather just list it every bit an choice. Commercial grade liquid peroxide tin can exist very dangerous when non handled with intendance. Information technology is an option for whitening skulls but requires care when handling the chemical. It also requires that you recolour the antlers when dealing with deer as the coronets volition usually take to sit in the liquid solution.

Finishing the skull: Once the skull is clean you may accept to glue some teeth and the front nose pieces dorsum in. Tarzan'southward grip does a practiced job here.

Quick Checklist:

Lightly boil/simmer the skull in a pot with degreasing detergent
Clean the skull
Lightly boil/simmer the skull in a pot with degreasing detergent
Make clean the skull
Identify the skull in water to degrease the skull
Clean the skull
Peroxide the skull

If you follow this procedure you should end up with a very professional looking euro mount. If you find over time that the skull is leaching grease to the surface you may accept to soak the skull further to remove any grease. Pigs and goats can be particularly bad and non rushing at the grease removal stage will come across these skulls stay clean.

After you lot have completed your euro mount, the skull tin exist placed on a board or skull hooker to finish off the terminal presentation. If subsequently downwardly the track you desire to mountain the head this process will not have any detrimental effects.