# degreasing whitetail skulls



## ToddB

First simmer it, not boil, simmer in borax to get all meat/flesh off. Change the water and again simmer in dawn dishwashing liquid to degrease. Wrap some foil around the antler bases if your worried but not nesarcery.


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## BigDoggDarren

dish soap and hot water, and it takes weeks not days


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## LL710

Put an aquarium heater in the water to keep it warm all the time. Change the solution when it looks oily.


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## mudflap

" I am *NOT* a professional " 
Here is how I do mine: "Cook Outside...Stinks!"Simmer skull in large pan with baking soda and one Dawn DishWasher tablet(add more if you have brain and lots of meat in/on head). Take out and pic, pull and clean all loose meat, cartiledge and what not. Do this until skull is completly free of meat or anything that isnt bone and antler. Be careful with Heat of water. Too hot equals busted skull and no teeth. Once clean place skull into plastic tub and pack all crevices and voids with Borax soap (7 mule team) I think that is the name. This will dry the skull and make any tissue you couldnt pic or pull off dry up and fall out. Let it set in this at least a few hours preferably 1-2 days for best results. Once dried remove all Borax and debris and keep in plastic tub. For whitening I use Clairol Basic White and Peroxide Creme. You can get these at a Sallys Beauty Supply, if it is like the one I go to they will know what you are doing and not make fun of you. Mix the basic white and Peroxide creme together to form a "ketchup" like paste. (Important you wear rubber or latex gloves and have good ventilation) Before applying to skull wrap base of horns with plastic wrap. This will keep from bleaching horns and not to worry if you do because it can be fixed with wood stain. After putting paste on skull "all over it in every nook and cranny" you can wrap in plastic wrap or just let be as is and place under heat via heat lamp next to wood stove just close enough not to catch anything on fire (heat speeds up whitening). Leave like this for a few hours checking now and again longer the better. Paste will start oozing out of plastic when it gets warm so dont be alarmed and when you mess with it keep gloves on. This stuff will whiten everything it touches and it burns the skin. Once you have let it sit it is time to rinse. Use warm to hot water in a sink an go over skull until all paste is gone. It will look kinda of weird until it dries again. After it dries you will have the whitest skull you could imagine. You can put a clear coat over it to keep dirt and finger prints from staining it. Hope this helps someone sorry for the length. Yes this is just the way I do mine, yes there are hundreds of ways to do the same thing. Just putting mine out there.


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## Perky

Sodium Carbonate done.


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## LL710

Sodium Carbonate (soda ash) in solution is used in CLEANING off meat and tissue when simmering (not boiling)
Dawn soup in hot water or a commercial degreaser is then used to DEGREASE the skull ( ammonia works well on coyote/fox size skulls)
Peroxide/ Basisc White is used to WHITEN the skull

You have to do it this this order.


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