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Cow Skull Problem. Stained??

Discussion in 'Skulls and Skeletons' started by Liannei, Sep 19, 2013.

  1. Sep 19, 2013 #1
    Liannei

    Liannei New Member

    14
    1
    Connecticut
    So I posted a little while ago about a cow skull I was doing that still had bit of flesh still stuck on. I took your advice and kept it in warm water for a few weeks to get the last bits off. It worked perfectly. Now, I have a new problem: The plastic bin that I used was black and now my skull has black stains on it where it was leaning on the sides of the bin. The pictures I took are the best I could clean them off after a hard scrubbing. Any advice on what I can use to get this off? Do you think it will come off during the degreasing process? Any input would help a ton.

    Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/tyFQJ
     
  3. Sep 19, 2013 #2
    Voltrax

    Voltrax New Member

    543
    0
    Poland
    Degrease. it's blood/grease.
     

  5. Sep 19, 2013 #3
    weasel123

    weasel123 Member

    245
    0
    Franklin, Wisconsin
    robert it does have blood and grease but the black stains are definitely not that. Are you sure it was caused by the bin? Was the bin black?
     
  6. Sep 19, 2013 #4
    Sea Wolf

    Sea Wolf Well-Known Member

    13,609
    1,774
    Taxachusetts
    Nope. More than likely anaerobic bacteria. Take a look at my maceration post on beaver heads. The black is from bacteria in an environment that is starved for oxygen. Keep working on your project normally. When it is all degreased and you do your final whiten, the stains will be gone. In the case of the beavers, just the teeth went black. I have also seen large areas of bone go black as well. I don't think it was from the bin but if it is still there when you are done it would be and I'm not sure how you would remove a chemical stain like that.

    I think you will be fine though. http://www.taxidermy.net/forum/index.php/topic,125253
     
  7. Sep 20, 2013 #5
    Voltrax

    Voltrax New Member

    543
    0
    Poland
    Ok, I should write it more clearly. Those are Anaerobic bacteria. They create colonies. In this case, where there is much of grease/blood. Degreasing/whitening will work miracles.
     
  8. Sep 20, 2013 #6
    Liannei

    Liannei New Member

    14
    1
    Connecticut
    Thanks for the input. I will continue with the process and keep my fingers crossed that it isn't a chemical stain. I didn't change the water out because I though with such a small amount of flesh on it, that the water didn't need changing. Now I know for next time. Thanks again!
     
  9. Sep 20, 2013 #7
    Sea Wolf

    Sea Wolf Well-Known Member

    13,609
    1,774
    Taxachusetts
    Actually, it is better not to change it out if you can avoid it. Doing so disturbs the bacteria on the surface of the bone and in some cases, the process has to start all over again so you actually make it take more time. I let things sit for a week unless I was lazy and tossed in a skull with a lot of flesh and the brain still in. After 4 days or so it will want to float so I change out half the water and hope that by moving it around the gas lets off and either most of the brain material rinses away or I get it to at least sink. If there is just a little bit of flesh or if you preclean it well, letting it sit for two weeks undisturbed won't hurt it.