Euro skull whitening

BradA

BradA

Long Time Member
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3,046
What product do you use to whiten your euro skulls? I have a few that were boiled years ago and never whitened.
 
40 volume hydrogen peroxide and water (about 30/70 mix). Wrap antler bases with plastic and electrical tape and simmer (~200 degrees) the skull just until it is white enough for you. Doesn’t take long. I’ve been doing euros for about 25 years and this is the way to do it.
 
If they have started to yellow I would degrease first, then whiten. I would not recommend heating peroxide. Can be VERY dangerous. Also make sure to use a plastic container. Metal (iron) will react with the peroxide. Remember peroxide is H2O2. As it breaks down from use it releases a Hydrogen atom and eventually the mix will become just water after time. That is why you should not heat peroxide.
 
The peroxide does a great job degreasing as well. This is the method the WhiteBone Creations guy has used on probably thousands of skulls. I’ve personally used it on over 40 skulls.

 
As strong a peroxide as you can get your hands on mixed with Simply White from the beauty store. Mix them together into a paste & apply to the skull with a paint brush. Let it sit overnight & spray off.
 
Awesome! Many different suggestions excited to give it a try and bring my euro back to life from the dusty yellow look.
 
If it is dirty or greasy I would lightly simmer in some water and borax and/or dish soap. Then do the peroxide.
 
diablo said:
The peroxide does a great job degreasing as well. This is the method the WhiteBone Creations guy has used on probably thousands of skulls. I’ve personally used it on over 40 skulls.

Click to expand...
I've done nowhere near as many as WhiteBone, and not quite as many a Diablo, but this video is about 90% exactly what I do. WB's peroxide soaking looked like it got the job done in one soaking. The 40 volume creme does the same thing, and takes a lot less space, but more time. Paste it on, wait overnight or a few hours in the sun. Rinse/brush it off. 2-3X makes it good.

I'll watch the video again, because I wasn't quite sure what the Mop N Glo was for. I think it was for easy cleaning later.

I personally like a high gloss finish so after it is white and dry, I paint it with some rattle can clear high gloss. Buy it at Home Depot, Wal Mart, or anywhere you can buy rattle can paint.

I've used Special Walnut stain as well, or whatever I had in the garage. Was it Walt Garrison that used to say "a little dab'll do"?

Good luck!

Oh, full disclosure, I've done whitetail skulls and turkey spurs, but never any antelope.
 
A super simple way that I've done a handful of skulls with is buying the cheapest, platinum blonde hair dye kit from the store. Mix it and wiped on the skull then placed in a garbage bag preferably in a warm place for a day or two then used the power washer to spray it off. As long as the skull doesn't have any grease left in it, they've turned out great and hold up, first one I did was 15 years ago.
 
I tape all of mine off and spray paint them white with cheap white spray paint. They look good to me, and nobody has ever asked if they were painted. They just assume that I whitened them. The nice thing about paint is that it doesn’t fade with age. They always look super clean and white. I know it isn’t for everyone, but it works for us.

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CC and Mallards, sound like good options for whitening. I'll try em out to see how I like them.
 
Or just pick up a six pack of White Out if you’re not particular about the results you’ll get…….🤣
 
Soak in acetone ( glass container sealed) for about two months. Then 50 volume peroxide from the beauty supply store mixed with hot water when you put it in. Paper white in about two days if that

Don’t boil skulls. You just cook the grease in
 
Go to any Sally’s beauty salon and buy a product called basic white along with 40% peroxide mix the two together to the consistency of mayonnaise and spread this paste all over the bone not the horn only the bone and let it dry brush it off with the paint brush a couple days later and it will be perfectly white
 
I used to boil mine with turkey burner and pot.

Last season I started putting/submerging my "cleaned heads" in a big slow cooker and I like that a lot better. Takes longer, but the end product is much better.

Turn it on low and come back 24 hour later. The meat then falls right off, and the low psi pressure washer takes care of the rest.

-Let it dry for a day in the sun.
-Paint.
-Let dry for a day.
-Put on display.

It's a few days to process but not much work really. Maybe takes 30 minutes total.

People are paying $150 for a European mount here. Seems high for the small amount of effort it takes in my driveway while having a victory beer.
 
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Boiling them cleans them. But it also cooks them. And cooks the grease into them. Big difference between a macerated or beetle cleaned skull to a boiled skull.

What do I know I’ve only done a hundred or so the way museums do um. No white spray paint…

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Bears and pigs always seem to take A LOT more degreasing. If not degreased correctly the grease will start to show latter. Museum quality also includes proper sealing afterwards. I use a polymer dissolved in acetone.
 
There are paper thin portions of nasal bones (like see through)that just dissolve when boiled. That’s indisputable. You can still have some of the nasal structure left after boiling but it won’t be a complete structure. That’s fine, they still look good but the best product you can possibly get is through maceration. I have one coyote skull where the hair thin ear bones actually all stayed intact. It’s pretty cool

Boiling bone cooks bone. That’s kind of self evident . Cooking bone locks in grease and changes the bone structure itself. You get a chance compare a boiled skull to a macerated skull. They look and feel different. Both methods work. But maceration is really easy and kind of a fun other way you might want to try. Get a bucket, Aquarium heater and a “delicates” washing machine bag. It’s actually pretty cool. Just let that thing rot, hose it off when it’s done, drop it in acetone for a couple months then whiten it. You’ll be surprised how perfect it turns out
 
JPickett said:
There are paper thin portions of nasal bones (like see through)that just dissolve when boiled. That’s indisputable. You can still have some of the nasal structure left after boiling but it won’t be a complete structure. That’s fine, they still look good but the best product you can possibly get is through maceration. I have one coyote skull where the hair thin ear bones actually all stayed intact. It’s pretty cool

Boiling bone cooks bone. That’s kind of self evident . Cooking bone locks in grease and changes the bone structure itself. You get a chance compare a boiled skull to a macerated skull. They look and feel different. Both methods work. But maceration is really easy and kind of a fun other way you might want to try. Get a bucket, Aquarium heater and a “delicates” washing machine bag. It’s actually pretty cool. Just let that thing rot, hose it off when it’s done, drop it in acetone for a couple months then whiten it. You’ll be surprised how perfect it turns out
Click to expand...
Two things, I've never tried the maceration, but would like to. I could probably YouTube it, but I'll just be lazy and ask here. :DBefore you put it in the water with the pool heater to macerate, do you skin it? Pressure wash it? Or just toss it in? Also, do you put anything else but water in the bucket? And what's the delicates bag for? Do I macerate my underwear with it? :ROFLMAO:

Something to consider, if you're bringing the skull across state lines, you have to be careful of CWD transport requirements. Most states say "no deboned meat or brain matter" allowed. Which rules out maceration, burying, and other time-consuming processes. For my NR hunts, I've used the skin, pressure wash, boil with Dawn and borax for 10-15 minutes, then PW again process. Takes about 2+ hours. It's CWD legal, but the pain is you gotta take a PW and boiling setup.
 
Yeah state line stuff is a different conversation for sure.

It couldn’t be a simpler process.

I skin the head. You can de flesh to speed it up but I don’t any more

Delicates bag is because it’s about the grossest thing you’ll ever do. Don’t want to dig through the goo for teeth

Just water. Preferably well or irrigation water. You don’t want chlorine in there that will kill the bacteria

You’re making a flesh eating bacteria. So dirty water and heat.summer it takes care of itself but I still stick the aquarium heater in there. Want that bacteria to stay alive

Then just let it rot. The bone will be in its natural state and a lot of the grease goes away with the process. Pull the bag, start running the hose through while still in the bag to get the goo out then I pull it all to a plastic tray for more light washing and to find all the teeth.

After that right into acetone for a couple months. When you pull it you’ll have some corpse wax to brush off with a clean tooth brush put it in the peroxide and hot water ( hot water super charges the peroxide) and in a few days it’s super white
 

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