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Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Bear (Other)
Size 1280 x 960
File Size 331.2 kB
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Finally clean and whitened as much as possible. This skull belonged to a smallish black bear and sat mummified in a garage for twenty years before I got my hands on it.
I put together a pic showing the steps I took to clean it over on my deviantart: http://saeto15.deviantart.com/art/C.....kull-629759204
I put together a pic showing the steps I took to clean it over on my deviantart: http://saeto15.deviantart.com/art/C.....kull-629759204
Category Photography / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Bear (Other)
Size 1280 x 960px
File Size 331.2 kB
Listed in Folders
Oh, man. What a great find! You did a great job cleaning it up!
Bears are VERY greasy though. They need a lot of attention to removing lingering oils.
Macerating the oil out of bear skulls actually takes a few weeks, so I highly suggest doing a lot more of it. If you can get access to a fish tank heater, use that! Black or otherwise opaque containers with lids in places that get a lot of sun so they stay warm are good too (darker color the better to prevent algae growth, which will stain your bones and can be potentially toxic to you.) You'll want to dump in some clear dish soap (I prefer Dawn, personally, use enough that the water feels soapy.) Change the water out every few days, rinse and repeat until the water stops being slimy with oil and rancid smelling. Keep loose teeth or the skull itself in a plastic grocery bag or mesh bag to keep track of teeth. You can also gently simmer them in a pot if you want! Make sure to do it somewhere no one will mind the smell, and in a pot that you won't use later for food. It'll take several hours minimum, sometimes over a few days.
It's really important to remove as much oil as you can, though. It can leave your skull rancid smelling after a while, and ruin any surface you display it on. Lingering oil also continues to break down the bone itself which can compromise the long term health of your skull even though it sat mummified for so long. Mummifying and peroxide baths won't remove oil.
Using peroxide is an excellent choice though! The brown bottle stuff you find in most grocery stores is very diluted, so it's safe for fairly long soaking. Don't be afraid to be liberal with your soak times and do it a couple times until you get a color that's more satisfying. Removing as much oil as you can will help most, though!
tl;dr: Word of advice: Don't set that on anything you are not willing to get permanently strained, haha. The oil will leak and smell. Even sealing them in polyurethane doesn't help much. Bears need long, warm maceration to remove oil.
I do taxidermy on the side and have a lot of experience with preparation and cleaning. If you have any questions let me know! I'll be happy to try to help.
Bears are VERY greasy though. They need a lot of attention to removing lingering oils.
Macerating the oil out of bear skulls actually takes a few weeks, so I highly suggest doing a lot more of it. If you can get access to a fish tank heater, use that! Black or otherwise opaque containers with lids in places that get a lot of sun so they stay warm are good too (darker color the better to prevent algae growth, which will stain your bones and can be potentially toxic to you.) You'll want to dump in some clear dish soap (I prefer Dawn, personally, use enough that the water feels soapy.) Change the water out every few days, rinse and repeat until the water stops being slimy with oil and rancid smelling. Keep loose teeth or the skull itself in a plastic grocery bag or mesh bag to keep track of teeth. You can also gently simmer them in a pot if you want! Make sure to do it somewhere no one will mind the smell, and in a pot that you won't use later for food. It'll take several hours minimum, sometimes over a few days.
It's really important to remove as much oil as you can, though. It can leave your skull rancid smelling after a while, and ruin any surface you display it on. Lingering oil also continues to break down the bone itself which can compromise the long term health of your skull even though it sat mummified for so long. Mummifying and peroxide baths won't remove oil.
Using peroxide is an excellent choice though! The brown bottle stuff you find in most grocery stores is very diluted, so it's safe for fairly long soaking. Don't be afraid to be liberal with your soak times and do it a couple times until you get a color that's more satisfying. Removing as much oil as you can will help most, though!
tl;dr: Word of advice: Don't set that on anything you are not willing to get permanently strained, haha. The oil will leak and smell. Even sealing them in polyurethane doesn't help much. Bears need long, warm maceration to remove oil.
I do taxidermy on the side and have a lot of experience with preparation and cleaning. If you have any questions let me know! I'll be happy to try to help.
I decided not to keep soaking in peroxide because it was getting a little expensive with how much it took to fill the container, especially when it got super cloudy overnight and will have to be changed frequently. I can put it back in the peroxide after I get paid, but I did glue the teeth back in already. Will the peroxide break down the glue? It's not a big deal, I just want to make sure there won't be any bad reactions with the chemicals.
If I go the route with dawn, will it be okay if I can't keep the water heated?
If I go the route with dawn, will it be okay if I can't keep the water heated?
The water should be heated. Leaving it in cold water isn't going to be very effective at all. Normally I leave them in dark containers somewhere out of the way where they can sit in the sun. The dark plastic will naturally heat the water during the day and help with degreasing, but I understand that sometimes that isn't feasible.
Fish tank heaters are very cheap, though! They will make the process very quick for you, and they're small and easy to store, so I highly recommend looking into getting one from somewhere. The wattage you want depends a lot on the size of your bucket. 20 watt will work okay with a 5 gallon utility bucket and a [50 watt] can work well for larger plastic storage bins and give you more flexibility otherwise. The default water temperature of 78°F is perfect for degreasing, though. You just have to drop it in and cycle the water until it finally looks clear after a day or two of heating with soap. It can take a week or more for bears, haha.
I would definitely look into ways to remove more oil before using any more peroxide, though— it shouldn't get very cloudy when you're whitening a clean skull. Without more maceration the oil will end up surfacing and yellowing the skull again over time, ruining your expensive effort to whiten it now. My roommate had that happen with a couple peccary and a little black bear skull, and they left large grease spots on her shelves. Couple more days in with the fish tank heater and soap cleared them up pretty well, however.
A good alternative worth looking into acetone. It will degrease bones very quickly at room temperature. Improper use can be dangerous, though! Not only are you subject to fumes as it evaporates, but it can damage the structural integrity of bones if they're in it too long and make them brittle. Be sure to research it thoroughly before using it, but it's a (reasonably) safe and very effective method when you keep a good eye on it. You may have much more use for spare acetone than a fish tank heater, too. We use it in repair and art projects regularly.
As far as glue, it really depends on what you use! Maceration and peroxide shouldn't dissolve it, but it may be loosened by the process— Bones swell a tiny bit in water, and shrink again when they dry. Acetone will eat through glue, though. If the teeth pop out again, just leave them in a bag on the side to dry and throw them in the peroxide when you're ready to whiten again. Glue back in when you're all done. I usually just use a generous glob of white Elmer's glue because it won't yellow as it ages and it isn't as brittle as super glue, but anything will work fine, including hot glue guns as long as you're careful. C:
Fish tank heaters are very cheap, though! They will make the process very quick for you, and they're small and easy to store, so I highly recommend looking into getting one from somewhere. The wattage you want depends a lot on the size of your bucket. 20 watt will work okay with a 5 gallon utility bucket and a [50 watt] can work well for larger plastic storage bins and give you more flexibility otherwise. The default water temperature of 78°F is perfect for degreasing, though. You just have to drop it in and cycle the water until it finally looks clear after a day or two of heating with soap. It can take a week or more for bears, haha.
I would definitely look into ways to remove more oil before using any more peroxide, though— it shouldn't get very cloudy when you're whitening a clean skull. Without more maceration the oil will end up surfacing and yellowing the skull again over time, ruining your expensive effort to whiten it now. My roommate had that happen with a couple peccary and a little black bear skull, and they left large grease spots on her shelves. Couple more days in with the fish tank heater and soap cleared them up pretty well, however.
A good alternative worth looking into acetone. It will degrease bones very quickly at room temperature. Improper use can be dangerous, though! Not only are you subject to fumes as it evaporates, but it can damage the structural integrity of bones if they're in it too long and make them brittle. Be sure to research it thoroughly before using it, but it's a (reasonably) safe and very effective method when you keep a good eye on it. You may have much more use for spare acetone than a fish tank heater, too. We use it in repair and art projects regularly.
As far as glue, it really depends on what you use! Maceration and peroxide shouldn't dissolve it, but it may be loosened by the process— Bones swell a tiny bit in water, and shrink again when they dry. Acetone will eat through glue, though. If the teeth pop out again, just leave them in a bag on the side to dry and throw them in the peroxide when you're ready to whiten again. Glue back in when you're all done. I usually just use a generous glob of white Elmer's glue because it won't yellow as it ages and it isn't as brittle as super glue, but anything will work fine, including hot glue guns as long as you're careful. C:
So I heated some water and added soap and let the skull soak overnight, then scrubbed it with a toothbrush and more dawn, rinsed in water, and then soaked parts in acetone for a little while. I didn't have enough to cover the whole skull though. It did turn the acetone yellow pretty quickly, and the spots lightened quite a bit. I know it wasn't enough time to get all of the oil out, but I let it soak again in peroxide overnight and it's already quite a bit lighter overall. I'll see about doing acetone again if I can find it somewhere in bulk for a reasonable price. I know that I didn't come anywhere close to degreasing well enough the first time, probably because the tutorial I was following was for a fresh deer skull.
Bears are very oily, so they'll take quite a bit longer than deer for sure, haha.
I'm glad to hear that it's helping already though! Keep working at it, you'll get a nice white color in no time. :D
Most hardware stores will have acetone in bulk because it's used as a paint stripper, so try checking there. This is the container we have under the sink.
I'm glad to hear that it's helping already though! Keep working at it, you'll get a nice white color in no time. :D
Most hardware stores will have acetone in bulk because it's used as a paint stripper, so try checking there. This is the container we have under the sink.
Protip: When you can, put your skull in a ziplock bag when using peroxide and submerge the bag in water to make sure everything is properly covered inside. If you're using the fish tank heater, you can toss it back in the bucket with fresh warm water to help the peroxide whiten faster. Just make sure your bag doesn't leak into the water and further dilute the peroxide solution. Tape it shut if you have to. Remember that skulls will be lighter when they dry, also, so you should be able to get a good approximation of color through the plastic.
Forgot to mention that earlier, haha. It'll save you some cash and time!
Forgot to mention that earlier, haha. It'll save you some cash and time!
You have that backwards. Bleach is corrosive as hell and will eat through bone while hydrogen peroxide (at 3% concentration, which is what most people seem to use) is safe for longer periods of time. All of the people and sites I've referenced stressed not to use bleach on bones for any reason.
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