European mounts

[gshorthair]

One of the best ways to remove the excess tissue from your skull is to put it in a pot with the water up to the top of the skull. Keep the antlers dry. Put some dawn dish soap in the water. This will help remove the oils from the skull. The oils and grease will give the skull a yellow appearrance and it will also collect dirt. Don't boil the skull. Heat the water to a simmer. Check the skull until you can tell that the tissue is starting to fall off. It will look like a well done roast that you can easily seperate the meat from the bone. Make sure you don't get the water too hot. If you boil it for very long the bones will become weak and crumble. There are several chemical mixtures that will help lighten the skull. One is concentrated hydrogen peroxide. Be careful it will burn your skin and it isn't wise to inhale the fumes. I have also seen skulls soaked in clean solvent in order to get that nice white appearance. I hope this helps. gshorthair
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