Euro mount update

[Savage Bacon]

Originally Posted by MK2750

I took a couple in to a well known taxidermist in Red Deer and one came back really flakey. Thankfully it was not the one I cared most about as the second one was my son's first buck. You might want to consider stabilizing with a matt clear coat.



I usually just boil with a little Dawn dish soap to get the grease out and a wee bit of Oxyclean. This one sat frozen in the shed for the winter and I believe it made the scull a little tainted. Around the nose and jaw kind of freeze dried like leather and was a real pain. It is looking good now though not snow white. Lesson learned, laziness is never the best option.

I saw a few YT videos of people saying that they just spray paint the skulls. Not much work at all. And easy to touch up. I'm not saying that I wouldn't do that in the future, but doing this first one by myself, I wanted to experience all the steps I took. And I also learned a lot.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Savage Bacon

I saw a few YT videos of people saying that they just spray paint the skulls. Not much work at all. And easy to touch up. I'm not saying that I wouldn't do that in the future, but doing this first one by myself, I wanted to experience all the steps I took. And I also learned a lot.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

Like I posted earlier in the thread there is a fair number of taxidermy guys who spray skulls with flat white.

[Savage Bacon]

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Like I posted earlier in the thread there is a fair number of taxidermy guys who spray skulls with flat white.

I don't see anything wrong with that. If you were doing them in bulk, that would be the way to go.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[Rvsask]

I just macerate skulls for euros. It takes more time and you need space enough to get the smell where you don’t want to be around it but I find it better than boiling personally. You end up with real clean bone and no grease. I then clean it off good to try remove smell and whiten with a paste I make from bleach and peroxide I get from my wife’s hair salon owner friend.

In my basement man cave there are 11 shoulder mounts, all deer except one speed goat and about 20 euros, deer, pronghorn, elk and moose. If I could go back in time there’d be less shoulder mounts and more euros.

[Savage Bacon]

Originally Posted by Rvsask

I just macerate skulls for euros. It takes more time and you need space enough to get the smell where you don’t want to be around it but I find it better than boiling personally. You end up with real clean bone and no grease. I then clean it off good to try remove smell and whiten with a paste I make from bleach and peroxide I get from my wife’s hair salon owner friend.

In my basement man cave there are 11 shoulder mounts, all deer except one speed goat and about 20 euros, deer, pronghorn, elk and moose. If I could go back in time there’d be less shoulder mounts and more euros.

That's quite the collection! Macerating skulls is new to me. I bet it does a very good job.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[Sitkaspruce]

Your buck looks great!! Thanks for posting an update.

This years buck I used a sous vide machine.

The wife wouldn't let me use the home one, so I bought a cheap one off Amazon.

It did work, but it was a learning experience.

First is it slower than simmering but a lot faster than macerating...
Second, I had to place a thin bag around the head as the meat etc, was staining the heating element and creating some interesting smells that got the boss asking. Once I had the skull and water in a bag, it worked Ok, but the lack of water circulation did slow the cleaning process. Will work on this the next time.
Third was figuring out the temp, but some research on taxidermy forums brought me around to between 165-175 deg. It will also depend on how well you prep it.
Just like sous vide at home, insulate the container you are using will keep the temp much more even.

It took approx. 3 days over letting it sit for 12 hours, clean and repeat. Then some time cleaning the brains and the last little bit of stuff

Then I did a lower temp, around 140 and soaked it (no bag) in Dawn and Oxiclean to degrease it. Changed the water every 12 hours until no more grease, another 2 days.

Then let it sit out in the winter sun over the next few weeks.

I decided to leave it natural instead of the peroxide treatment.

I am happy how it turned out.

Overall, I will try this again as I didn't have to worry about the skull getting soft or discolouring the antlers. Trial and error.

Cheers

SS

[Savage Bacon]

Originally Posted by Sitkaspruce

Your buck looks great!! Thanks for posting an update.



This years buck I used a sous vide machine.



The wife wouldn't let me use the home one, so I bought a cheap one off Amazon.



It did work, but it was a learning experience.



First is it slower than simmering but a lot faster than macerating...

Second, I had to place a thin bag around the head as the meat etc, was staining the heating element and creating some interesting smells that got the boss asking. Once I had the skull and water in a bag, it worked Ok, but the lack of water circulation did slow the cleaning process. Will work on this the next time.

Third was figuring out the temp, but some research on taxidermy forums brought me around to between 165-175 deg. It will also depend on how well you prep it.

Just like sous vide at home, insulate the container you are using will keep the temp much more even.



It took approx. 3 days over letting it sit for 12 hours, clean and repeat. Then some time cleaning the brains and the last little bit of stuff



Then I did a lower temp, around 140 and soaked it (no bag) in Dawn and Oxiclean to degrease it. Changed the water every 12 hours until no more grease, another 2 days.



Then let it sit out in the winter sun over the next few weeks.



I decided to leave it natural instead of the peroxide treatment.



I am happy how it turned out.



Overall, I will try this again as I didn't have to worry about the skull getting soft or discolouring the antlers. Trial and error.



Cheers



SS

Thanks!

Ya I'm sure your wife wouldn't be too impressed using her kitchen gear lol.

I like the look of the skull before bleaching too. I was actually thinking of leaving it. If you look at SageValleyOutdoos thread I think it's called 2023 monster whitetail. His first pic is of his skull before bleaching. Looks awesome with that monster. And a few pics of my skull earlier in this thread. I like that look.

Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk