Gonna attempt a European Mount this weekend - Any pointers?

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Boil on stove in kitchen. Your wife will love it.

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I've already got all of the boiling done. I'm sure she would have love me if I did it on the stove!!. I more or less only have the final cleaning stage and bleachin stages left.

Don't boil, only simmer. Can add small amount of soda ash (local feed store) to help break down tissues. Pick EVERY little nook clean. Bleach with 40% peroxide paste and whitening powder from Sally's beauty supply.

I haven't tried it myself yet, but I've read that once your peroxide paste is applied, to wrap the skull in cellophane and put near a heat source for a while and it will help the whitening process. I've always just let it sit overnight and rinsed the next day.

Use anything you can find.... dental picks, flat headed screw drivers, steel brushes, tweezers, etc.

Boiling and getting all the crud out is the hard part.

On mine I just paint the skull with a flat white paint in lieu of bleaching as first one I bleached started yellowing after a couple years. Tape up horns with grocery bags and tape teeth and spray away! Will post pics tonight of a couple I've done.

wire brush does a good job for final clean. Small needle nose pliers, dental picks, and all of the above mentioned are good to have on hand. Whatever it takes ot get all off that stuff off so it doesnt stink later.

Dont use peroxide to whiten, Go down to the salon store and get a bottle of volume 40 whitener. A bottle is less than $3. Works great. It is thicker and stays in the nooks and crannies better, I used a 1" paint brush to apply it, make sure to do inside the eye cavities and as far as you can in the nose.

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Dont use peroxide to whiten, Go down to the salon store and get a bottle of volume 40 whitener.

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This is what I have, I thought it was peroxide for some reason. Went to Sally's beauty supply earlier today. Thanks!!

I have one that needs to be done. Maybe next week I will get started.

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After you boil or simmer the head, taxidermist told me to use a pressure washer to blow everything out.

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Some of the facial bones and sinuses are VERY delicate. I'd be afraid a power washer might cause some damage.

May be to late here but I'll add my two cents anyway.

Don't boil or simmer, you can damage the actual bone. Not noticeable immediately but its there and can show up in later years. You can do it this way without messing it up but its walking a tightrope. Soda ash speeds it up as well but your margin of error is much smaller.

Maceration is probably the best if you don't have beetles. Basically it involves stripping as much meat as you can off and then placing in a bucket and letting the bacteria eat it off. A stiff piece of wire can be used to remove as much brain matter as possible.

Very fast in the summer, slower in the winter. An aquarium heater set to 95 will help. Once the bacteria are done with it a garden hose will be all thats needed to remove whatever flesh remains. The major advantages are no damage to the nasal bones by trying to remove cartilage and zero chance at bone damage.

Next degrease, best done with hot water changing every couple of hours. You can build a degreasing tank out of an old cooler but if you are only doing the occasional skull kind of overkill.

The bleaching process has been well covered.

I also like to hit it with a shot of matte clearcoat. Just makes keeping it looking good easier.

I know with deer it may not matter as much but if you have to mess with muskrat, mink, or other furbearers the difference can be huge.