european mount

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I'm in the process of doing a european mount, BUT, I had the head boiling the other day, i went fishing for a couple of hours, came back, and it bone dry and chared on the bottom half. I haven't given up yet in hopes of the bleech taking it off. Anyone ever have this happen to them? how long do you soak the skull in the bleech?

[Shoot2Kill]

DO NOT soak your skull in bleach - it will severely weaken the bone! I "paint" a white paste like mixture on all my european mounts which you wash off when dried and the bone is white as can be. It's a magnesium carbonate/hydrogen peroxide mixture that turns into a paste when mixed. Let it sit over night, wash off the next day, repeat if necessary, and the skull is pure white.

There are other alternatives sold in taxidermy supply company catalogs. For now, just leave your skull, order a few of these catalogs and decide what will work best.[note from admin- no unauthorized links please.]

You'll be able to get your skull white, just DON"T put it in bleach.

[Stratosman]

I use peroxide straight up. Soak overnight or a bit longer, making sure to get none on the antlers. Rinse and let dry and see how it looks...stay away from bleach like above post stated.

[Polar Bear]

Good advice on the peroxide...the only thing I'd add is a tip I got from an old taxidermist, now long dead. He always mixed a solution of white elmers glue and water then painted a light coat on the cleaned skull. The stuff dried to a sort of semi-gloss finish that acted like a sealer. I like the effect it produced.

Polar Bear

[mncarphntr]

I have my doubts about removing charring with bleaching. When I do skulls I SIMMER for 1/2 hour to an hour in water with sodium carbonate (washing soda) to help remove the meat. Then after thorough cleaning, soak in pure bleach for no longer than 10 minutes. This will eat away the bits of cartilage and flesh that you cant get off. Then rinse well and apply the peroxide paste as mentioned, leave a few days, wash and seal. Before everyone starts telling me about the evils of bleach, yes you can ruin a skull with bleach just as you can with overcooking. I'm a taxidermist and do quite a few of these, you just need to be careful.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

thanks guys, I'm going to try to find some of that peroxide paste at gander tonight. Do you paste the teeth with that too, or keep the natural color of the teeth?