/ Register

  1. Welcome to Taxidermy.net, Guest!
    We have put together a brief tutorial to help you with the site, click here to access it.

Questions Regarding Degreasing

Discussion in 'Skulls and Skeletons' started by marcos, Mar 20, 2023.

  1. Mar 20, 2023 #1
    marcos

    marcos Member

    30
    3
    new mexico
    Hello all, been working on some Oryx skull's passed few weeks. The two ive been working on been some greasy critters. The second one didnt seem to bad, made it all the way to whitening. After letting it sit and dry for a few days i noticed some grease spots starting to show above the upper teeth and towards the front of the skull. I decided to heat up some warm water with dawn and let it soak for about an hour. Im guessing the hour wasnt enough but after taking it out and setting it to try it seems to be even greasier than it was before i put in the dawn. im guessing the degreasing was working but possibly pulled out too early, im thinking the skull was degreasing but since i pulled it early the grease stayed on the outer parts of the skull. Is this possible?


    i ordered me a pail heater and plan to degrease at 115 for a week or so with Dawn.
     
  3. Mar 20, 2023 #2
    Tnrandy

    Tnrandy Active Member

    258
    204
    Tennessee
    Your plan sounds good...you get the best results degreasing in heated water.
     

  5. Mar 22, 2023 #3
    Sea Wolf

    Sea Wolf Well-Known Member

    13,747
    1,890
    Taxachusetts
    Heated water to 120 will be better. I'm going to assume that an oryx will fall into a deer/antelope type of grease and it needs a bit more heat to soften it. Degreasing takes time so go for a couple of weeks before you check it. Adding 4 cups or so of ammonia to the Dawn will help too. Insulate your container all around (including under) to help hold in the heat.
     
  6. Mar 22, 2023 #4
    marcos

    marcos Member

    30
    3
    new mexico


    thank you for the info Sea Wolf, im pretty excited to give this pail heater a try. just waiting for it to be delivered. question regarding the ammonia. i have a couple bottles at home that were purchased from walmart. just clear ammonia. doesnt say anywhere on the bottle what % it is. Should i bother with this? ive read in other post about hardware ammonia such as Ace etc. I looked at Ace also but dont see how strong thiers is either. Would like to use what i already have if possible. Also as far as disposing the ammonia, im guessing this isnt good to put down a drain. Where do people usually dipose of?
     
  7. Mar 22, 2023 #5
    marcos

    marcos Member

    30
    3
    new mexico


    thank you for the info Sea Wolf, im pretty excited to give this pail heater a try. just waiting for it to be delivered. question regarding the ammonia. i have a couple bottles at home that were purchased from walmart. just clear ammonia. doesnt say anywhere on the bottle what % it is. Should i bother with this? ive read in other post about hardware ammonia such as Ace etc. I looked at Ace also but dont see how strong thiers is either. Would like to use what i already have if possible. Also as far as disposing the ammonia, im guessing this isnt good to put down a drain. Where do people usually dipose of?
     
  8. Mar 26, 2023 #6
    Sea Wolf

    Sea Wolf Well-Known Member

    13,747
    1,890
    Taxachusetts
    Down the drain is fine. It won't hurt anything. If I have water and an ammonia mix I pour it out along the rows in the garden and around growing plants. It is an excellent fertilizer. Detergent is not though so dawn water just gets poured down the drain or in a hole in the yard or I use it to scrub off the deck and then wash it off.
     
    marcos likes this.
  9. Apr 4, 2023 #7
    marcos

    marcos Member

    30
    3
    new mexico

    got the Pail Heater plugged in and insulated. So far its working like a charm! wish i had purchased one sooner!