Maceration Step by Step

[AndyB]

I still think maceration is disgusting and vomit worthy LOL

[Wolfwoman]

That's ok, everyone gets over it!!  

[bigbuck07]

I still think maceration is disgusting and vomit worthy LOL

i wouldnt have it any other way

[rengelma]

Hey everyone here are pictures of my boar skull, I just took it out of the degreasing.  I'm going to let it dry for the next day or two then into peroxide.  I think it's degreased enough... I'm worried about the lower jaw, but it doesn't feel greasy.  I'll see how it looks dry and it might go back into degreasing.

Rob

[Pete E]

Rob,

Thats looking very good!, How long as it been in the degreaser and what type did you use?

I've been trying to clean up some African skulls using various soaps or detergent based degreasing solutions, but today I put one into a cellulous paint thinner...wow, what a difference! No more hanging about! Although the skull looked reasonable clean, the thinner went brown and the skull got visibly cleaner as I poured it on!

I am hoping to use the same batch of thinners to clean three skulls as a minimum. I also have to wildebeest skulls which I am not sure about as yet, because i can't remove the horns...

Look forward to seeing your boar when its finished!

Regards,

Pete

[rengelma]

I first cleaned most of the meat off the skull by putting the skull in a garbage bag for about four days.  Then the skull went into the maceration bucket (water and ammonia) for about a week.  Finally I put it in degreaser for about two weeks.  For degreasing I was just using water and dawn dish soap (about 12oz of soap in 2 1/4 gal of  water.)  This is my first skull so I'm not sure how to tell if it is really done degreasing.  I think I'm going to put it in the peroxide tonight and see how white it'll get.  I have the 3% peroxide and I was thinking about making a paste with laundry detergent and spreading that on the skull to help degrease and bleach at the same time.  Has anyone done something like this before? 

[Pete E]

Rengelma,

My worry about mixing it with laundry soap is that, is that some of its strength might be spent oxidizing that instead of the skull...

What I do is stand the skull in a plastic tupperware container with a little perxide on the bottom...I then dip cotton wool balls into the peroxide, and lay it over the skull..You need to "unroll" the balls as you do it..Once the entire skull is covered I then pour more peroxide over the cotton wool to soak it...The excess drains down and is caught in the plastic container and there is then a "wicking" action keeps all the cotton wool damp for the next 24 hours or so...

Even with 3% peroxide, I strongly recommend you wear rubber gloves to handle it...

Regards,

Pete

[rengelma]

That's a really cool idea, that way you don't need 2+ gallons of peroxide to cover a skull

[rengelma]

I just put it back into the degreasing with more ammonia... once it started drying you could see grease stains on the back of the skull and all over the lower jaw bone

[Sea Wolf]

I wouldn't mix peroxide and laundry detergent either. You'll be wasting the action of the peroxide on the soap and not the skull. Mixing chemicals can be a no no too. Think bleach + ammonia = you die. Seriously, there is a deskunking solution that has peroxide and dish soap. It FOAMS like crazy but it is just the peroxide breaking down. I wouldn't mix those two as it would just be a waste. Peroxide can be bought in larger bottles for cheaper. You can also put the skull in a plastic bag, pour in a few bottles of peroxide .. and then push the skull IN the bag down into a bucket of water. The water pressure outside the bag will squish it tight against the skull as you go deeper, squeezing out air and raising the level of peroxide in the bag without adding water. Make sure the water does not go over the top of the bag. You can maybe weight the skull down so it stays put. 3% peroxide is sorta cheap though and buying a gallon or so won't cost very much.

[rengelma]

I can get 2 quarts of the 3% at Sams for $1.63... not exactly breaking the bank.

[Gobblingfever]

May i ask how long to degrease and how long in the peroxide. I use ammonia for degreaser and 20 volume peroxide. Can the peroxide be used over again or only for each skull? What is a good container to put deer skulls into? I wase so much liquid to fill bin to get skull into cause of the antlers. After peroxide soak, keep outside in sun? and if so how long? I was wondering if a UV light could be bought to act as the sun during winter. Thanks, Rob.

[Nina]

Awesome thread, Wolfwoman! Last year when I killed my archery doe, I kept her skull and skinned it, then stuck it up in a tree in my backyard to be nature cleaned. Well that didn't work out as I had planned, it just made a near-mummified deer skull. So a couple days ago, I rehydrated it, that removed all the bugs from it, and changed the water. Then I set it in my backyard with a lid on top. I just checked it the other day, and it was macerating well. Most of the meat came off, I changed the water again and hosed more of the meat off. Some of it I had to pick off by hand. But my first maceration project is going well! I can't wait for the finished product! Your post has inspired me to get into skull cleaning now.

[Wolfwoman]

Rob, I've only used ammonia once and I don't care for it, maybe someone else can help with that. Soak in peroxide about 48 hours, after that it won't get any whiter. You can use the peroxide more than once, but it does lose it's strength after awhile. I've used a long narrow shallow container for deer, propped them up and used a paper towel wrapped around the antlers to wick up the peroxide.

Nina, thanks   Don't change out all the water next time, it just makes the bacteria take longer to start to rot again. Change 1/3 to 1/2 depending on stinky level and if anyone around can stand it   I've had a bin out in the generator shed all summer and all I've done is ADD water. I didn't change at all. Looks like... well nevermind what it looks like! Don't pick either, waste of your talented time Let it rot!

Here's almost done skulls that started this post:

The large griz and the black bear that will go in peroxide tomorrow when I get more



Two wolverine that will also go in peroxide.... and the griz teeth on a tray 



And a badger that was BLACK when I took it out of the plastic bag.... it's been rotting thru two winters! LOL It lightened up as it dried.

[stitcherman]

The idea from wolfwoman of seperating the skulls with plastic bags is great. I had to pull the five skulls out and put them in ziplock baggies AFTER I punched lots a holes in 'em. (the bags that is) And used some quarter inch steel plates to hold them down in the water of a 6 gallon plastic bucket with the aquarium heater. They are out of the garage outside on top of a old refrigerator to keep the neighborhood dogs out of it and to keep the wife content . The garage is "starting to smell", she said.
  If bears come around I hope they are short ones.