Bear Skull

[High Schooler]

Hey,
  New to dermestid beetles for cleaning skulls, but i've had alot previous exerience boiling them.  We recently just did a bear skull to practice on before we started to go commercial.  Our colony is well established and they cleaned t well.  However, afte i "bleached" it, (not actual bleach) (hair salon products) it came out with brown bloches all over it.  I used the same bleaching process that i used on all of my other boiled europeans and they came out fine.  I've boiled even another bear skull and that also came out white.  I figure the proble is in the extreme amount of oils that a bear has and those are the cause of the bloches.  Any in put is welcome, i basically need to know if it was just a oil problem and i don't need to hault before going commercial, or if there is something wrong with my technique that needs to be fixed and the same wiill happen when i start doing deer this fall.  Thank you
                  high schooler

[joeym]

One of the first things you'll learn about skulls is there is a totally inconsistency in the outcome from de-greasing and whitening.  What works for one, won't work for the next.   Take the skull and soak it for 2-3 weeks in a soap based de-greaser.  Try your whitening process again.   If it is not satisfactory, you may want to soak it is 3% peroxide for a week or two.  After this, let it set in the bright sun for a day or so.  I do all of this, and if they are not white to my satisfaction, then I mist with lacquer-based superhide white paint using an airbrush.  They'll be white after that everytime!   The 3% peroxide can be used over and over, you are not committing all that peroxide to just one skull.  Remember, peroxide should always be used and stored in total darkness to prevent it from being degraded to water.  I use 35% peroxide to whiten, and still have an occasional problem.   Hope this helps

[WolvenDeath]

    What type of laquer would you recamend for antlers (black-tail) and for the skull itself? I also have some teeth needed to be glued back in after boiling, do I use just a normal super glue from an art store?

Thanks,
    Kavik (also a highschooler)

[joeym]

Use Elmer's glue (white school glue) to glue the teeth back in the skull.  To seal the skull itself, mix Elmer's glue and water 1:1 and cover the entire skull with this.  If you have dis-colored the antler burrs from boiling, use walnut stain to re-tint them.  Use a Q-tip to lightly apply the stain, and a cloth to dab off the excess, blending them to the natural antler color. To give the antlers  a gloss, use Krylon Triple Coat clear lacquer.  Most people do not want the antlers this glossy.  Experiment on some cull antlers with this to know what suits you.

[WolvenDeath]

Thanks a bunch! I'll try it all out right away! 

[High Schooler]

Mr. Murphey

    That sounds like a good plan, but one question to ask.   When you soak the skull in the degreasing solution like that for that long, isn't almost going to turn into a sort of maceration situation where the water is going to start to break down the calcium in the holds of the bones making the skull weak, and the teeth fall out, like they would if you were to boil it wrong, or for to long and hot?  thanks

[joeym]

Maceration does a much more thorough job of cleaning skulls than any other method.  The disadvantage is that it takes time.  After maceration, rinse the skull and then put it in the de-greasing solution.  A lot of people use Dawn (1 cup/gallon of water).  I use a non-ionic surfactant, which is a super concentrated soap.  There is nothing left to macerate when you place the skull in the de-greaser.  An added benefit of de-greasing is that it deodorizes the skull.  The skull can stay in this solution for several weeks without injury.

[crankin]

i also have different outcomes with different skulls and i use maceration, but the only time i ever gotten a lot of brown blotchs was went i simmered as this cooks the grease into the bone, so with something as greasy as a bear i would guess thats what it was, just do like joeym said a repeat the degreasing and whitening until you get what your looking for

[Wolfwoman]

isn't almost going to turn into a sort of maceration situation where the water is going to start to break down the calcium in the holds of the bones making the skull weak, and the teeth fall out

If you want a really clean skull, you want to take the teeth out anyway, why pull em when they will fall out on their own?  I never say a skull is finished until I have taken the teeth out and they are clean too, and the cavities that they were in!

Wolfie