[TrykonSniper79]

I've found some buck skulls in the woods and I was wondering what some of you use to stain the antlers and bleach the skulls, also to fill in the antlers where the squirrels have eaten away at them. Thanks in advance.

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[redneck-archery]

use some bleach or some peroxide to whiten but don't get it on the antler or it will turn white also. The best thing I have found for darkening antlers back up is Old English furniture polish. You can buy it in different tints.. as for fixing the chewed up places you can buy the same stuff taxidermist use but I'm sure its expensive or use bondo ( like for cars ). I had a friend that would build an entire rack out of bondo & it looked pretty damn good.

 

[redneck-archery]

I like to paint my skulls & then dip them. Look up spray paint dipping on youtube. I only use 1 color to dip with after I paint it. I've had better luck that way. Just a thought.

 

[ChadMR82]

I buy the 40% peroxide solution and the whitening powder you mix with it from amazon or a beauty store. Women use it lighten their hair. Works great. As far as stain for antlers, just experiment with a light wood stain.

 

[Disco89]

A simple can of white spray paint actually works really well to whiten a skull. Just tape off/cover the antlers. Check out JB weld for wood to use as filler for the chew marks. Or quite honestly, because you found them in the woods, I'd leave them as is. Adds a bit of flair and character from Mother Nature.

 

[moecarama]

A simple can of white spray paint actually works really well to whiten a skull. Just tape off/cover the antlers. Check out JB weld for wood to use as filler for the chew marks. Or quite honestly, because you found them in the woods, I'd leave them as is. Adds a bit of flair and character from Mother Nature.

^^^^This right here as far as stain try a walnut or pecan stain. I just leave 'em as I found them......Nice find!

 

[b0w_bender]

I used acrylic gesso paint from the hobby store to paint the skull with a brush. it's low odor cleans up with water and looks pretty good. If you want to put in the extra effort I would go with the hydrogen peroxide mixture mentioned above.

 

[msailor]

Place skulls in a room temp 40 vol peroxide solution (50:50 water to peroxide), leave them in until the solution begins to boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove.

For the antlers use old English furniture polish of some walnut wood stain.

 

[Bows for me]

Paint is the best to whiten the skull as bleach or peroxide as both of those deteriate the bone over time

 

[scrub-buster]

Bleach damages bone. Peroxide does not.

 

[Bows for me]

Ok sorry my old taxidermist just always cut the skull plate and put mine on a fake skull as he said to either paint it or do the fake skull he said the bleach or peroxide would damage or deteriate it this is on a fake skull on the first buck I killed with a bow a hand me down high Country supreme

 

[AlanCoderre]

I am a taxidermist that does these all the time. Do not use bleach as it will make the bone brittle. Do not bring water to a boil and put the skull in it you can severely damage the bone to the point where the bone begins to flake off. Those skulls are already brittle because of them sitting outside for so long. Take dawn dish detergent and warm water and some the skulls in that changing the water out every day for the first couple days until the water is clear. Then let the skull dry completely. I then take make a mixture of 40% hydrogen peroxide cream and quick white and mix it until it is like pancake batter. Be careful not to get this stuff on your hands because it will burn you. I usually wear rubber gloves. then I take a paint brush and cover the skull completely. Once covered wrap in plastic wrap. Now here is where the magic happens. Make sure you place the skull in front of a heat source. I usually use my pellet stove. I do this for about a day and then I remove the plastic inside of a bath tub and rinse it off. Be careful that you do not loose any teeth down the drain. Make sure once agin you wear gloves and you rinse it off completely. Let the skull dry once again and that part is done. You can use glue to fix any parts that are broken or loose. Now for the antlers. For antlers like those I first take a rag with minwax golden oak and put a light coat on the anthers until I get my desired affect. I then use Minwax dark walnut and a q-tip and I carefully do the antler burrs and where ever on the antler I want to darken it up. If you take your time you cannot tell that you even stained it. Here is a important tip. Do all this with the skull upside down so the if you drip stain it is not on your nice white skull.If you want to fix the chew marks that becomes a little more difficult as you will have to use epoxy sculpt to fix it but it can be done. Fixing it is not hard its the painting that you will have to do to blend the fixed area to match the color of the stained antlers. I hope this helps if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

 

[3 Blade Rage]

I am a taxidermist that does these all the time. Do not use bleach as it will make the bone brittle. Do not bring water to a boil and put the skull in it you can severely damage the bone to the point where the bone begins to flake off. Those skulls are already brittle because of them sitting outside for so long. Take dawn dish detergent and warm water and some the skulls in that changing the water out every day for the first couple days until the water is clear. Then let the skull dry completely. I then take make a mixture of 40% hydrogen peroxide cream and quick white and mix it until it is like pancake batter. Be careful not to get this stuff on your hands because it will burn you. I usually wear rubber gloves. then I take a paint brush and cover the skull completely. Once covered wrap in plastic wrap. Now here is where the magic happens. Make sure you place the skull in front of a heat source. I usually use my pellet stove. I do this for about a day and then I remove the plastic inside of a bath tub and rinse it off. Be careful that you do not loose any teeth down the drain. Make sure once agin you wear gloves and you rinse it off completely. Let the skull dry once again and that part is done. You can use glue to fix any parts that are broken or loose. Now for the antlers. For antlers like those I first take a rag with minwax golden oak and put a light coat on the anthers until I get my desired affect. I then use Minwax dark walnut and a q-tip and I carefully do the antler burrs and where ever on the antler I want to darken it up. If you take your time you cannot tell that you even stained it. Here is a important tip. Do all this with the skull upside down so the if you drip stain it is not on your nice white skull.If you want to fix the chew marks that becomes a little more difficult as you will have to use epoxy sculpt to fix it but it can be done. Fixing it is not hard its the painting that you will have to do to blend the fixed area to match the color of the stained antlers. I hope this helps if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Great post! Thank you for sharing. It is nice when a professional will share there technic on doing a job the right way! Thank you again.

 

[kschneider002]

I have found that using the fake plastic skulls is a little more expensive, but they make the job a lot cleaner! Typically, you can complete the job in an hour!

 

[kzz1king]

I am a taxidermist that does these all the time. Do not use bleach as it will make the bone brittle. Do not bring water to a boil and put the skull in it you can severely damage the bone to the point where the bone begins to flake off. Those skulls are already brittle because of them sitting outside for so long. Take dawn dish detergent and warm water and some the skulls in that changing the water out every day for the first couple days until the water is clear. Then let the skull dry completely. I then take make a mixture of 40% hydrogen peroxide cream and quick white and mix it until it is like pancake batter. Be careful not to get this stuff on your hands because it will burn you. I usually wear rubber gloves. then I take a paint brush and cover the skull completely. Once covered wrap in plastic wrap. Now here is where the magic happens. Make sure you place the skull in front of a heat source. I usually use my pellet stove. I do this for about a day and then I remove the plastic inside of a bath tub and rinse it off. Be careful that you do not loose any teeth down the drain. Make sure once agin you wear gloves and you rinse it off completely. Let the skull dry once again and that part is done. You can use glue to fix any parts that are broken or loose. Now for the antlers. For antlers like those I first take a rag with minwax golden oak and put a light coat on the anthers until I get my desired affect. I then use Minwax dark walnut and a q-tip and I carefully do the antler burrs and where ever on the antler I want to darken it up. If you take your time you cannot tell that you even stained it. Here is a important tip. Do all this with the skull upside down so the if you drip stain it is not on your nice white skull.If you want to fix the chew marks that becomes a little more difficult as you will have to use epoxy sculpt to fix it but it can be done. Fixing it is not hard its the painting that you will have to do to blend the fixed area to match the color of the stained antlers. I hope this helps if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Will this work on a fresh skull with meat and brain matter still on it? Thanks
Wayne

 

[AlanCoderre]

Will this work on a fresh skull with meat and brain matter still on it? Thanks
Wayne

It will yes. do yourself a favor and get the brain out first. If you do not you will bury grease into the skull because of the heat and you will not be able to get it out. I use a long nozzle air gun and hold the skull over a trashcan. Insert the nozzle into the hole in the back of the skull where you can get at the brain and blow air into it. The brain will come out in about 3 seconds. I prefer to beetle clean my skulls but I know you more then likely do not have access to that. Before you place your skull into the simmer get off as much meat and hair as you can this will really speed up the process. Any questions please let me know.

 

[kzz1king]

It will yes. do yourself a favor and get the brain out first. If you do not you will bury grease into the skull because of the heat and you will not be able to get it out. I use a long nozzle air gun and hold the skull over a trashcan. Insert the nozzle into the hole in the back of the skull where you can get at the brain and blow air into it. The brain will come out in about 3 seconds. I prefer to beetle clean my skulls but I know you more then likely do not have access to that. Before you place your skull into the simmer get off as much meat and hair as you can this will really speed up the process. Any questions please let me know.

Thank you!

 

[ZAB1]

I use the peroxide cream from the beauty supply store (strongest they have) and add the basic white powder. I let it sit under a heat lamp for a day or so and reapply if needed. Have had excellent results and I’m extremely picky about my mounts. I do not like the painted look personally