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I shot this bull a couple years ago, I boiled and cleaned it up right away with borax and dish soap and it sat in my shop since then. I recently used 40% peroxide three different times on it and there is still yellow in places, I even used plastic wrap on each application and each application it sat for 2 days.
The skull in general is very white, does anyone have any suggestions on getting the yellow out?
I thought about soaking it in water and dish soap for a few days but I am not sure if it is oils since the areas where it is yellow is usually the first to come clean, mainly the edge of the eye socket and the front edge of the snout. My concern is that it sat too long and it is what it is unless I airbrush it or something like that, although I really don't want to paint it.
LOL I guess the picture lost the yellow in internet space, it does have yellow around the eye socket, top of the sinus area and the front edge of the snout.
The yellow is grease still trapped in the bone. The best way would be to to soak it in warm water [with aquarium heater] with plenty of DAWN dish soap to draw out the grease. Do it for a couple days. Then use your 40% peroxide again.
Boiling skulls doesnt do a very good job getting all the grease out
I enhanced the color so we can see the areas
Degrease it in a tank with an aquarium heater. I recently had one that I degreased for a year until it became white, due to some very stubborn blood stains that got cooked in. I used a combination of Dawn, ammonia and Borax to get it clean.
This might be blasphemy, but I wrap the antlers up and tape around the bases then use flat white spray paint.
I'll give it a good soap soaking with a trough heater, it just seemed odd that it is yellow where the bone is thin. I would have thought those areas would have been de-greased with as much soap and borax that I used in the first place.
Other ones I did the same way didn't seem to have this problem but I will definitely soak my next one for a week or so after cleaning it!
LOL A year!!
Paint would be my last resort but I am sure it would still look good.
I've never done an elk skull, but with whitetails, after thoroughly cleaning I soak the skull in a bleach solution.
Just gotta be carefull to avoid bleaching out the base of the antlers.
try soaking in white gas for a couple days. Forrest
I've never used bleach, but I've heard you shouldn't because it will make the bone brittle.
I would leave it alone. After all this time, more work on it may get it all flaky and damage it more than the benefit of removing that minor amount of greese...
I have a guy who uses beetles. He does a degrease process and I never have an issue with skulls Turning yellow. I have a few skulls that I have boiled and done myself. Over time they have gone really yellow. I prefer the beetle cleaning and the degreasing process that some do. Really makes it look nice.
I expected this thread to be about Greece, not "grease"...
the Euro's value to the dollar has gone done
considerable, that's a problem if your holding Euros.
There are several peroxides available. Paste or liquid. You may want to try a couple different types and concentrations to see which works best?
