Acetone For Degreasing

I use white gas or denatured alcohol

 

Every species is different as well as individual animals as far as level of grease so there is not a hard and fast rule for time in the degreaser. They are done when they are done.

 

Hello from Montana,
When the degreasing solution turns brown, discard it and place the skull in fresh solution. Continue the cycles until the degreasing agent remains clear. Once the skull is apparently degreased, allow it to thoroughly dry and inspect; if you are not satisfied continue degreasing. I use ammonia but the principle is the same. Sometimes I degrease for weeks or even months before I am satisfied with the results. Good luck.
Please note: I do not prepare bird skulls. You may have to be vigilant
when soaking avian skulls to prevent them from disarticulating. My success with degreasing is limited to mammal and reptile skulls and does not include birds.

 

Have you done hog heads? I had a head soaking in Ammonia for threes changed water twice, but i have decided to try acetone in a 5 gallon pile. I am thinking it may need to be done in a white pile. As we just started in a red pile for today. How long would you leave it the acetone?

 

Acetone is not needed with these as they are not really greasy animals 'cept for the coons. Do NOT just dump your cleaning materials when they are discolored. You will be wasting a huge amount of materials and $$$$ if you do, especially with acetone which is not cheap. Discoloration does not mean that your solution is no longer good. You can use acetone or white gas but they are really not that good of a degreaser for bone alone. If you are not going to try the heated detergent soak (which works beyond well for these smaller animals) try a solution of ammonia instead. 50/50 ammonia and water will work but you still are going to have to let these skulls sit for a fair amount of time which is why the heated detergent solution is better. The time in heated Dawn/water will be less than in room temp ammonia. I have found that acetone/gas alone did not produce that great of a result. They are going to have to sit for a long while before you get good looking specimens and deep grease is still an issue with this. As above, when it is done it's done. When *you* are satisfied with the appearance, they will be done. Room temp anything is going to take longer than a heated solution of Dawn/water. Heating the solution softens the fats and allows the detergents to pull them out of the bone a lot faster. You can't heat acetone and other solvents safely as they are flammable. Detergents are water based and can be heated with no dangerous consequences. They are also much cheaper and cost effective.