Deodorize a euro mount
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: BUCKeye
04-Dec-23
Looking for suggestions to get the stink off. My son got a nice buck and we had the skull cleaned with dermestid beetles. It was clean but smelly when we got it back. I let it sit submerged for a few days in a bucket with Mule Team 20 Borax but that didn't help. Even simmered for 2 hrs. Finally gave it a heavy coat of 40 vol peroxide....pretty and clean and white but still too stinky to bring inside.
From: JohnMC
04-Dec-23
Hard to believe if it completely clean. Is it you or your wife that thinks it smells?
From: deerhunter72
04-Dec-23
Really shouldn’t have much of a smell to it. I’d let it soak in 110-120 degree water with dawn dish soap for a few days. This will degrease and might also help with the smell.
From: 4nolz@work
04-Dec-23
Air it out for a couple weeks in the garage
From: Starfire
04-Dec-23
Assuming the beetles did their job. Look in the nasal cavity and brain cavity especially around the ear canal to make sure all flesh is gone. If its clean then it needs to be degreased. Soak in a mixture of half water and half ammonia and a squirt of dawn. I do it for 48 hours and then change and do it again, then fresh water.
From: 4nolz@work
04-Dec-23
Air it out for a couple weeks in the garage probably not completely dried
From: SBH
04-Dec-23
If it stinks there’s meat/flesh in there somewhere. Won’t go away until you get it out or it decomposes. Maybe leave it outside for a few weeks and then hang that one up high lol.
From: butcherboy
04-Dec-23
I agree with what others have said about degreasing. Just because it’s beetle cleaned doesn’t mean the euro is finished.
From: BUCKeye
04-Dec-23
It looks perfectly clean but maybe a morsel hiding somewhere I can't see. It seems like the stink soaked into the bone. I'll try soaking in ammonia/ soap and then air out in garage for awhile.
From: walking buffalo
04-Dec-23
"It seems like the stink soaked into the bone. "
Oil/fat in the bones is causing the stink. It needs degreasing.
From: Murph
04-Dec-23
I would disagree with most on the stink, I did an elk for a guy last weekend he had skinned it off and hung it in a tree for the last 7 weeks maggots had got into the brain cavity and it was quite strong, it cleaned up beautiful not an ounce of meat or tissue anywhere but the brain hole still had a slight dead smell to it, bone is porous and that smell permeates it no question may have to wear off the bleaching I did was boiled in a high volume peroxide simmer that draws the oil out
From: fuzzy
05-Dec-23
As others have said, the smell is soaked in grease and other organic material . Which is one reason I don't like beetle cleaning. It's gonna take a long soak.
From: BC
05-Dec-23
Google a product called Oder X-IT. They use this stuff to clean up crime scenes.
From: Keefers
05-Dec-23
Just a thought here if you can get a bottle of essential oils in cedar or pine scent and boil with dawn liquid soap as others suggested it’s possible that cedar oil may soak into the bone and leave a better smell . I’d rather smell cedar any day and just worth a try.
From: Mule Power
05-Dec-23
Needs seriously degreased
From: cnelk
05-Dec-23
Soak in acetone
From: Buckdeer
05-Dec-23
just let air out
From: Murph
05-Dec-23
I don’t see how grease or oil smells like rotten flesh, if the skull is done fresh or remains frozen until boiled it should have zero odor the only time I’ve ever experienced lingering odor is from one that has been alllowed to rot or a dead head that’s been picked up and it still always derives from the brain IMO it’s a whole different level then rotten meat when you find the remains of a dead critter the head is always the root cause of the major stink relative to the other bones
From: butcherboy
05-Dec-23
It smells like rotten flesh because it was beetle cleaned. I used beetles for a period of time before I switched over to maceration. Beetles stink. Skulls can stay in a beetle colony for days or weeks not to mention the little boogers that get into spots in the skull and die. Properly beetled skulls should always be degreased. It will not only remove the smell but the grease in the bone as well.
From: doubledrop
05-Dec-23
I have the same issue but agree with the garage air out as well as a shot of Killz white up the nose and in the brain cavity. I try not to hit it where the white will be visible, but not a huge deal since it is white. Really helps with the slight odor that remains.
From: fuzzy
05-Dec-23
Murph it's a beetle cleaned skull not boiled. They stink. The organic fluids and grease soak into the bone. They have to be soaked out.
From: Zbone
05-Dec-23
doubledrop - "as well as a shot of Killz"
What is "Killz"?
Does Dawn dish soap actually degrease the skull? I've had a few skulls professionally done by beetles a few years now and none of them have smelled... The skull cleaning professionals promote degreasing with their advertisements of beetle cleaning and have wondered what they use to degrease?
cnelk mentioned Acetone, will Acetone degrease a skull?
From: Starfire
05-Dec-23
Killz is a paint. I don't see how that is going to get rid of smell. It's just going to trap it.
From: cnelk
05-Dec-23
I’ve been around a few euros and the process
From: wytex
05-Dec-23
Yes Dawn is a great degreaser, acetone is not a degreaser per say but works similar. Many taxidermist use Dawn , you have to simmer the skull in warm water with Dawn until it looks clear and not oily on the surface, the water that is. Change out the water as it gets scummy.
Been doing euros for 35 years now too, Dawn is the ticket. If you have sealed it with something then acetone may be require to get that coating off and let the grease out.
The smell will not just air out unless you get the grease out and check the brain cavity for the lining in there, make sure the beetles got it out or the skull will stink forever.
From: fuzzy
05-Dec-23
cnelk those are nice Euros! I've only done a few dozen. I had a hog done "professionally" once that stunk so bad I had to soak it several weeks with soap and baking soda. Had two other hogs done by another guy that didn't smell. I did one bear by simmering with borax that I didn't get all the grease and it doesn't smell, just yellowed.
From: deerhunter72
05-Dec-23
Yup, dawn dish soap and low heat will degrease. You soak and change water until you stop getting grease film on top of water, otherwise there is grease in the skull that will leach out eventually. Acetone works really well also and is faster, but it's a little trickier to work with so I have never tried it.
Great looking skulls cnelk!
From: cnelk
05-Dec-23
Those aren’t my skulls - they’re my buddy’s who does about 1000 a year. I’m just over at his place often. ;)
From: Charlie Rehor
05-Dec-23
Incredible business. 1000 at $175 a piece is $175,000 per year. What a great country.
From: tiogajoey
05-Dec-23
Had one that smelled and Used ozone on it. Smell went away
From: deerhunter72
05-Dec-23
Holy smokes!! 1,000 a year. Incredible. Good for him!
From: cnelk
05-Dec-23
He does elk, deer, antelope, bear, buffalo, turkey…. Sometimes people bring in their dog or cat.
One guy wanted him to do his amputated leg… but he declined that.
From: AaronShort
06-Dec-23
LOL...I've had requests and have done several odd ball euros. Mice, small birds, pets, but never an amputated leg! As far as a euro with smell there are several methods to fix it. It always comes from a job that wasn't cleaned or degreased properly. Keep in mind different animal fats have different melting points.
From: carcus
06-Dec-23
needs air time
From: DonVathome
06-Dec-23
Kilz is known to help cover smells. I have used it to "seal" OSB subfloor that cat pee on. It makes a huge difference so it can seal in smells. I am not saying it is a good solution, never tried it on bone, just that is does seal in smell.
From: BUCKeye
06-Dec-23
I have a propane turkey fryer that I can do a few hour simmer but I'm going to need a different heater if the soap water needs to be warm for a few days. There was a recent post about a sous vide. My wife won't let me use hers. Any suggestions on the cheapest pail heater that would reliably get to the required temperature? I probably won't go the dermestid route again, so this is a 1 use heater.
From: fuzzy
06-Dec-23
Any small business can use a "leg up" ;)
From: SBH
06-Dec-23
We use this one. Not sure if price is right for one time use.
I think you could get away with the turkey fryer just run it really low while you’re home then turn it off at night and while you’re gone. May take a bit longer but I think that would work if you want to save $60.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/farm-and-ranch-supplies/animal-feeders-and-waterers/74140?store=17613&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpf7Frov8ggMVWx6tBh0Mgw8yEAQYBSABEgK30PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
From: JohnMC
06-Dec-23
Just don't tell her
From: skull
06-Dec-23
Grease in bones can cause them to be sticky, discolored, or smelly. If your bones are displaying any of those signs, you likely need to degrease them. Some grease can be seen on the surface of the bone, and other grease can be deep within the bone and not be visible for months until it surfaces. This is why it is important to not put any coating on bones (including paint) until they are completely degreased. Deep grease can surface later, showing up trapped under lacquer or messing up paint.
From: bentstick54
06-Dec-23
For all you guys who use dawn soap, does the soap scent make a difference? And does it have to be dawn, or will other brands of dish soap work equally as well?
From: butcherboy
06-Dec-23
Dawn is the best for degreasing. A little bit of industrial strength ammonia mixed in as well. I used to buy it at Ace Hardware until I found a chemical company that I bought it from in 55 gallon barrels. Also, an aquarium heater works really well for degreasing. You don’t want the temp to get above 110-115 Fahrenheit. I actually used a camp chef explorer stove. Turn the air intake till it’s closed then set the gas knob to the low side. I ran it day and night but it was outside behind my shop. Never worried about anyone stealing heads because it’s out in the country and the gates to the entrance were locked. If you go this route or with a turkey fryer then just do it when you are home so you can watch it a little. It may take longer because you start and stop and the water and head will cool. The trick is to keep a steady temp on it for as long as it takes.
From: SBH
06-Dec-23
We use this one. Not sure if price is right for one time use.
I think you could get away with the turkey fryer just run it really low while you’re home then turn it off at night and while you’re gone. May take a bit longer but I think that would work if you want to save $60.
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/farm-and-ranch-supplies/animal-feeders-and-waterers/74140?store=17613&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpf7Frov8ggMVWx6tBh0Mgw8yEAQYBSABEgK30PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
From: deerhunter72
06-Dec-23
I agree with butcherboy, Dawn is best. I’ve never used anything else. I use a bucket heater on a timer. There was another thread recently and someone recommended one of the heaters that wraps around the outside of the bucket and has a thermostat. A little pricey but would be ideal for the job.
