I am working on a Javelina skull. I have boiled it, pressure washed it, and cut/scraped off what litte was left. It is looking really good so far. I currently have it soaking in 40% H2O2.
It took two gallons to cover both pieces in a 5 gal bucket, luckily I found it on sale for .99 per pint. Is there any way to recycle my H2O2 to be able to use it again? I have learned that maybe I should wait and do multiple skulls at once!
The teeth are not loose. I think they should be as it seems there is still some tissue holding them in. They are also still very stained, although the peroxide may have whitened them some overnight. Should I try to clean them with a tooth brush with baking soda? How long should I leave it in and what are my next steps to completion.
Thank all of you, this is a great sight populated by many knowledgeable people willing to share.
Return to Gamehead Taxidermy Category Menu
SOAKING? Maybe John C is right, some of you shouldn't be allowed to mess with things you don't know about. With 40% H2O2, you mix a small amount of it with Basic White or some similar "developer" and you PAINT IT ON. You leave it for about 30 minutes and you WASH IT OFF with a hose. You can repeat this step a couple times if you're not satisfied with the whiteness. After boiling and then pressure washing, I can only imagine what you have left with this thing setting in two gallons of peroxide.
there is nothing wrong with soaking the skull in the peroxide. You can also paint it on as George stated. Where you went wrong was right from the start with boiling the skull.
Read up in the archives on skull cleaning to get a better understanding of the subject.
The teeth should have been removed from the skull prior to the peroxide bath since you want to keep them stained. This is how they look naturally. And yes the tissue inside of them needs to be removed.
Unless you use the gel peroxide, ordinary peroxide in an open container and exposed to sunlight simply turns to water within 24 hours. He could've saved a bunch of money by just using water.
who said open container? LOL. It has to be a plastic tub with a lid on it. Yes you can not expose it to sunlight. Ha ha you are funny Geo. No really.
I soak all of my skulls overnight and sometimes a little longer. Learn to use smaller tuperware and you won't have to use so much for each skull. Also keep it in a closed building and the cover on when not in use. It'll last longer.
Les
Soak the bone if you are using 3% like for cuts and scrapes
Paint it on if you are using the 40% stuff.
I use 3% in a tight fitting container and can do a fair amount of bone materials with it before tossing it.
I also use my peroxide in stages. The LAST soaking of peroxide I do on a piece becomes my FIRST batch of peroxide used for the next project.
The reason is this;
Peroxide gets scuzzy when you add bone. It bubbles all the gooey goodness right out of it - LOL! I usually whiten my bone in 3 seperate changes of peroxide.
I prefer to use the 3% because;
A) it is readily available and no risk of burns to skin or eyes
B) it cleans more thoroughly. A paint on application makes it look white - but does nothing to disinfect the interior of the bone.
My first submersion gets nasty fairly quickly. I leave it in there for a day. A full change of peroxide and leave the bones in that for a day. I will then ususally do one last change and leave THAT for a day. By this time the bones are as white as they are going to get. The continual change of peroxide ensures higher effectiveness of the solution. It sounds like I use a lot of peroxide and in some cases I do - but I will put entire skeletons in the mix - not just a skull. Also, you can add marbles etc to fill up space and raise the liquid level. I reserve this last, fairly clean amount of peroxide and use that as the first step in my next project.