i bleached a deer skull and i read in the archives that it isn't good to use bleach on deer skulls. It looks yellow, i was wondering what i should do to make it look nice and white and not end up chalky, next time i will not use bleach, but if you tell me how to fix thiss mistake i will really appreciate it.
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I was told by a reliable source that the bleach will never stop eating bone or antlers. It is ruined.....
The yellowing may or not be from bleaching. It can also happen as a result of grease bleeding out of the skull if it wasn't properly prepared, or from grease being set into the bone from a heat source such as simmering or boiling, or it could be the simple colour of the bone if ya had not yet whitenned it.
Degrease then whiten your piece and see what happens. You can degrease in a grease cutter like Dawn detergent, acetone or Epo-Grip blood out degreaser. Dawn detergent is probably the best for you now considering skill level and cost. Then whiten in a bath of 3% hydrogen peroxide for a couple of days.
That should get you started. If it is still chalky after that... get some 400 grit sand paper and lightly buff it off. This should work if it's not TOO damaged.
It's no wonder everybody hated you. A little information is very dangerous to some people. Hydrogen peroxide is water on steroids. The bad thing is that when exposed to the atmosphere, the steroid evaporates. Peroxide is not an acid that can't be neutralized. Once the action is complete and the magnesium carbonate is washed off, there is no residual to keep "eating the bone forever"
Van Dykes sells a kit (page 255) mix basic white with the 40 volume peroxide till you get it to the consistency of tooth paste. Apply with a small brush let it sit for a couple days, once it is completly dry just brush it off or blow off w/ compressed air. Dosent matter that you boiled in bleach I have done several of my own bear skulls that I had originally boiled w/ bleach they still turn out. you can also find basic white at hair salons somtimes they also have 40 volume peroxide.