i have a bear skull that have been cleaned by bugs. it still stinks pretty bad. what should i do to get the smell out and what should i do to get it white. ive searched some but found many ways. which is the best way. what about grease also. ive done bobcat skulls just by boiling then painting. will that be alright.
thanks
jon
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Boiling and painting is an easy way out. I can't say 'thats not how you do proper skull prep' because the fact is - it IS a way to prep a skull.... It's not a system I would ever speak of or let anyone know I had ever used tho - it would be my own dirty little secret if I had ever done one that way.
The stage you are at now you have some options. Degreasing skulls is ALWAYS a good idea. In bears it's a must. They are such greasy critters that if you don't de-grease them yer gonna be in for a world of hurt later. There's a variety of degreasers like safety-solvent. acetone or DAWN detergent. Basically - you need a grease cutter to degrease. The less corrosive it is - the better. As for whitening - peroxide. 3% like that used ons carpes etc is my preference, but some people use higher concentrations from beauty salons (hair dye kinda stuff - it's a paste). For the stink factor? The bone stinks becasue it absorbed the smell of the rotting meat. The bone will also absorb 'nice smells'. This is all due to it's porousity etc. After you degrease and whiten, make a solution of a nice scented dish soap and water and let it sit in that for a bit. Make sure to wash the skull very well to remove all soap after and you shouldn't have any nasty stink left.
I shodul have proof read.. my appologies ;)
"3% like that used on scrapes" is how it should have read...
In many places the arcives say wash with Dawn in hot water.
Next step is to cover it with 3% hydrogen Peroxide from Walmart or some other cheap source.
You need to full cover the skull with the H2O2 and leave it in for three days, then check, repeat until its bleached white.
Be sure you seal the container to eliminate evaporation and release of the 2nd O2 molecule.
3% is very safe, the 40% many recommend can blind you or burn your finger nails, very fricken painfullllllllllll.
ill give those a try.
While I would never presume to disagree with John C. or Raven I think with bears there is a serious need for proper degreasing, doing hundreds of them probably gives me a different perspective.
Ill explain what I do and why:
After a skull comes out of the beetles it does smell unpleasant, but the cleaning and degreasing processes will eliminate that. I generally take them out every 3 days or so and mover the cleaned ones to a utility sink. I have a 4 foot length of hose attached to the faucet and using extremely hot water I spray skulls individually until the water coming off is clear. There are always a lot of bug casings in the nasal cavity and they can easily be rinsed out with a bit of hot water pressure from the underside of the skull. Ensure the water coming out of the nasal cavity is clear. The lower jaw has a hollow core that always contains beetles. With a bit of pressure you need to rinse from the outside and the front of the mandible, spraying water in the holes on each side, you will notice the casings falling out of the holes on the inside.
OK, Now you have a clean rinsed skull and lower jaw. I take 5-10 of them and place them in a Rubbermaid tote. I then fill the tote with hot water and add lemon scent, antibacterial Dawn. I swirl the skulls around, turn them over to ensure there is no air trapped in the brain cavity. Cover with a lid, and leave them to soak until the water gets dirty brown (at least 2 days sometimes 5). Then one more time I repeat the above rinse/spray procedure and put the on racks to dry.
It takes a few days for a skull to dry after this procedure. After I am convinced they are completely dry, which is extremely important since water and the chemical degreaser I use don"t mix, I put them in metal pails of degreaser to soak. Once again you need to make sure you get the air out of the cranium, turning the skull over to ensure total coverage.
Degreasers: I should first say that in the world of skulls, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If it is your personal skull, a second treatment of the Dawn process may very well suffice. Commercially prepared skulls however must be completely degreased before whitening. This is an area that I have never actually seen in the archives or properly presented anywhere in print. Bears cannot be degreased in a day or 15 days for that matter. The removal of the fats and oils from the bone requires soaking in a commercial solvent, like acetone or lacquer thinner. The soaking process should be for at least 4 weeks. After that time the skull is removed, dried for no less than a week, and examined for any remaining grease areas on the bone. The skull is generally yellowy gray and the grease is visible as wet looking spots. The mandible, Zygomatic arches (eye sockets), and Occipital Condyle (lobe at base of skull) all are problem areas for grease. If the skull has grease spots it will need to go back in the degreaser. Degreasing solutions that I utilize (Lacquer, and MEK) turn orange as they become saturated. An orange solution should be changed, but one skull should not saturate it.
This is getting long winded, but is important. There are a couple of things that can cause problems with this procedure. The first is ensuring you place a dry skull in the degreaser. If you fail to dry the skull completely, went to the hardware store and buy $25.00 worth of lacquer thinner (5 Gallons), and soak the skull in this thinner (my recommendation) the pail will rust. Any moisture causes the pail to rust and you will rust stain the skull, which is fixable, but Ill never admit how J.
Bottom line is that skulls are art forms. The proper preparation of them is not an afternoon project. It is very time consuming and will require patience, but the properly prepared product is incomparable to an afternoon quickie job.
Whitening is the last step. If you have not let the skull dry the solvent will cause yellowing. Let it sit for 10 days, it will be worth it. Then whiten with 3%. I am certain a bear can sit in 3% for a week with absolutely no damage. I use 35%, sometimes diluted to 17% at least overnight.
Seal the skull with a solution of 1/2 water and 1/2 White Elmers glue. Just paint it on with a brush, and let it dry, it will prevent dust and dirty fingers from leaving marks. It will also seal any remaining odors. I dip mine but many people just brush it on. Dipping is a pain but seals inside and out.
Good Luck, Be patient.
I think John and I both said to degrease - I know I said it was a must...
good info in your post Robert - I'm gonna print this one out - always good to have more resource material on hand =)
i think ill try roberts method out, even though it takes extra time. thanks guys.
jon