Going to boil deer skull or a European mount and need some advice. The ranch foreman at my job suggested using hydrogen peroxide. I am wondering how much to use?

Boil the ever living hell out of the skull and scrape all the meat and brains from it. It will take some time to pick it all off.

Get a plastic tub from Walmart, like the ones old people used to soak their feet in epsoms salt. Put the skull in the tub and pour a few bottles of 2% peroxide in with it, make sure not to get the peroxide on the antlers. I use pieces of paper towel to help wick the peroxide on the top part of the skull, this ensures the bases of the antlers don't dip into the peroxide. Let it soak 18-24 hrs. Repeat process until desired whiteness is achieved.

[This message has been edited by hellapark (edited 5/4/2012 9:12p).]

Get a jug of 40vol peroxide from a beauty supply store, it will do a LOT of skulls.
1. Boil the sheet out of skull.
2. Clean all meat and membrane from it. The brain is best removed with a bent coat hanger.
3. Apply solution liberally with a paint brush and let dry in the sun.
4. Repeat step 3 til the desired result.
5. Clean / wash all remaining solution off with warm soapy water.
*. Don't get any on the antlers, it will lighten them also.

I have only done a few European mounts, maybe 7 or 8 of them. The ones that worked out the best -- the last 4 or 5 -- were the ones that I boiled with a product called Sal Soda. It is sold by the Wildlife Artist Supply Company (WASCO). It is well worth the few dollars to simplify the task of flesh removal from a skull. Here is a link to the product. Good luck.

http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/15/skull.html

You experienced folks with boiling skulls omitted the part about clothespins for the nose. The SMELL is brutal.

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You experienced folks with boiling skulls omitted the part about clothespins for the nose. The SMELL is brutal.

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Not if it's fresh; just smells like cooked/cooking meat at that point.

[This message has been edited by Log (edited 5/4/2012 10:00p).]

Find a fire ant nest and push the skull into it. Leave it for a few days and then boil it.

I wouldn't use the fire ant method. You're just leaving a nice treat for a dog or wild critter to gnaw on.

Fire ants also consume the membranes that hold the bones together. This method is not recommended.

Don't over boil your skull, either.

The more pre-boil knife work you do, the easier boiling will be.

You can use a bit of Dawn soap added to the water in your boiling pot. Borax works too but I do not recommend a borax/water mix in an aluminum pot.

Use hydrogen peroxide to whiten the skull when you're done boiling.