Bleaching your own skulls.........

[rossivey]

Skulls painted white look like crap. If you use the peroxide method, they look more naturally whitened that if you paint them and fill in the intricate details with white paint.

I have seen some painted skulls that have designs painted on them that looks really cool. I wouldnt do it with a big buck, but maybe a cull, hog, or predator skull.

Good to know! Thanks!

Where do you get the beetles? I've heard they work good but don't know where to buy them. Never needed beetles before!!!! LOL!

[wooduck1954]

Thanks, got a couple I need to do.

[Raypo]

Looks good

[LWArchery]

How do you degrease the skull when using the beetles? I have seen them turn back yellow if you dont degrease the bone.

[RAGUIRREJR]

Just boiled. I have the peroxide, just have not gotten around to finishing it. I kinda like how it looks. I need to get a more recent pic, this was from back in December

[Kingrabbit]

de greasing comes in the boil with some dawn dish soap..or for the hog skulls drill tap a small hole on the inside of both sides of the jaw then boil to get that gunk out... also when im done all glued and set up , i put a thin coat of elmers glue over the whole skull to help prevent the flaking..

[Bucksaw]

It shouldnt flake unless you are using actual bleach to whiten it. Always us peroxide. Bleach will disolve the bone slowly over time, no matter how much you rinse it.

[Kingrabbit]

yeah i use that stuff from sallys and had a lil bit of flaking when the skull dries... but i just spread a lill bit of elmers glue around and seems to work well..

[Tex_Cattleman]

I do fifty or sixty skulls a year and have tried nearly every possible variation of cleaning, degreasing, and bleaching.

I can tell you this...if you boil a skull, you're going to get some flaking. Any amount of severe heat will turn them a bit chalky.

It's interesting to me that most every taxidermist learned their skull process from another taxidermist. I tried that as well, with less than satisfying results. I finally "got it" when I reached out to the company that does 90% of all the skelatal displays in US museums.

I'm not a taxidermist by any stretch of the imagination. Those guys are true artists with forms, hair, painting, etc. The one thing I hear over and over from my taxi friends is, I HATE SKULLS! Yet, they all have to do them, as the money is good for the effort. They will also tell you that the vast majority of customers don't seem to care about the quality of their euro mount. Rather, they are happy to get the antlers back and not have to pay the cost of a shoulder mount. Sick as it is, I love doing skulls. And like my woodwork, I am a perfectionist on each and every skull.

Martinez Brothers in South Austin gets double what I do on a skull, and the quality is laughable.

Don't forget I'm here when you're ready for a Euro. If you're not completely satisfied when you get your skull back, I'll do it over or give it to you free. Like my woodwork and dove hunt outfitting...every customer leaves satisfied. Email or call me if I can ever be helpful.

Trey
512.203.5869
trey@texaswildwood.com

[bjsexpress]

I boil them... and consider this, don't wait at all, immediately boil then it smells like stew cooking and not like rancid meat...

[bjsexpress]

Tip #2.... add dawn dish soap while boiling... works great too

[wabmd7]

looking good! thanks for the informative post

[flufster]

I do fifty or sixty skulls a year and have tried nearly every possible variation of cleaning, degreasing, and bleaching.

I can tell you this...if you boil a skull, you're going to get some flaking. Any amount of severe heat will turn them a bit chalky.

It's interesting to me that most every taxidermist learned their skull process from another taxidermist. I tried that as well, with less than satisfying results. I finally "got it" when I reached out to the company that does 90% of all the skelatal displays in US museums.

I'm not a taxidermist by any stretch of the imagination. Those guys are true artists with forms, hair, painting, etc. The one thing I hear over and over from my taxi friends is, I HATE SKULLS! Yet, they all have to do them, as the money is good for the effort. They will also tell you that the vast majority of customers don't seem to care about the quality of their euro mount. Rather, they are happy to get the antlers back and not have to pay the cost of a shoulder mount. Sick as it is, I love doing skulls. And like my woodwork, I am a perfectionist on each and every skull.

Martinez Brothers in South Austin gets double what I do on a skull, and the quality is laughable.

Don't forget I'm here when you're ready for a Euro. If you're not completely satisfied when you get your skull back, I'll do it over or give it to you free. Like my woodwork and dove hunt outfitting...every customer leaves satisfied. Email or call me if I can ever be helpful.

Trey
512.203.5869
trey@texaswildwood.com

[ATTACH]391320[/ATTACH]

And he is a darn good dude!!!

[Shiner5455]

Thats Great Work. Thanks for the knowledge.

[DODfirefighter]

good info