[Autumn Lea]

I had an European mount done on a deer in 2015. I always knew it was done wrong. I just got my mount back from this year and can tell the one from 2015 is very bad. Is there anything I can do to fix it without ruining it ? I used the good one for reference

 

[Autumn Lea]

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[loridr]

The one from 2015 wasn't bleached. Don't know if bleaching it now would hurt it, maybe someone who knows more about it will chime in. I have several that were, for lack of a better explanation, over bleached, and those are flakey and always shedding chips and flakes. One thing you could do is have it dipped, that comes out pretty cool.

 

[Coureur De Bois]

Cabela‘s had. A nice kit at one time, don’t know if they still do. I used it for my one Mount turned out good.

 

[BIGGAME]

Simmer the skull in in borax and water solution for about 10 min. Take it out and clean it up. I use my havalon knife to lightly scrap off gunk. Then buy some volume 40 from the beauty shop. Brush it on. Reapply while still wet until you like it. I tape the bases of the antlers to not get bleach on them.

 

[BIGGAME]

I would start by taking the wire out. Doesn't look to good running across the front of the skull

 

[Autumn Lea]

Simmer the skull in in borax and water solution for about 10 min. Take it out and clean it up. I use my havalon knife to lightly scrap off gunk. Then buy some volume 40 from the beauty shop. Brush it on. Reapply while still wet until you like it. I tape the bases of the antlers to not get bleach on them.

Do you think bleaching it would make it fall apart? It’s not extremely brittle but stuff does flake off it it. But I think it’s the dirt from the inside that has been falling out. I really don’t want to dip it .. I like the natural look.

 

[Autumn Lea]

I would start by taking the wire out. Doesn't look to good running across the front of the skull

Words of advice.. don’t break up with your boyfriend while his dad is doing your skull hahah. He attached it with wire going through the skull. When I took it down ri move, it would spin around

 

[Autumn Lea]

This is what it looked Like in 2015 when I got it back

 

[uplander]

Don’t use bleach….. bleach softens and damages bones. As mentioned get some cream peroxide (used for hair). Paint it on thick on everything except antlers. Wrap it up in plastic wrap (keeps peroxide from drying out). Let sit for a day or so. Unwrap rinse and let dry.

It will be white.

As far as cutting the back of skull to get the brain out; can’t help on that issue.

 

[BIGGAME]

No, over boiling it could make the teeth loose or fall out. Cleaning is the key to it looking good that's why I would boil it with borax for a little. To soften stuff up then pick or scrap the little bit off gunk off.
Keep the volume 40 wet while reapplying. When your happy wipe excess off

 

[Wald Jager]

Bleaching with Clorox bleach and excessive boiling is what degrades the bone. Not sure how the skull was prepped but it looks dirty and greasy.
I would use very hot water not boiling and Dawn dish soap to clean and degrease. Let soak a half hr or so and stiff brush/ toothbrush it. Use a cheap big pot from dollar store. Tape off the antlers completely, nice dark color will whiten with peroxide splatter if not careful.
Beauty supply store sells peroxide Volume 40 paste or cream. That will whiten the bone. Cant say how long to leave it on but I suggest putting some on the back of skull on roof of mouth to test. May take a few hours . Check every 1/2 hour for whiteness. Rinse well once you like color.
To rehang use wire on the back below brain stem hole ,several holes there to make a hanger. Not a hard job to do just tedious. And post pictures of your finished mount ! Good luck

 

[Samuel]

Get rid of the wire and use long dry wall screws. Align them with the 2 holes on the back of the skull right above where the wire is.
as far as bleaching, I really can’t comment

 

[TrashPanda]

I would ditch the wire also. I would not bleach or peroxide it. I killed a bull elk on October 16th this year and had the Euro stuff done while out west to have it CWD legal for the trip home. It is brittle and kinda weak. If it were me, I would buy some white gloss paint and paint it.

 

[The Pennsylvanian]

At this point I'd tape off the antlers and do real lite coats of a flat or satin spray paint, maybe even do a diy hyrdodip in white to keep it natural. Then put it on one of those metal skull mounts.

 

[JJ4D]

Like others have said, cream peroxide and apply until you like the color. Good luck and welcome to HPA.

 

[bgh3d]

Another choice that I will at least put out there if push comes to shove is to start over with one of the realistic faux skulls. Especially if you’re giving any thought to dipping it anyhow. I always prefer the real skull obviously. But if it starts to fall apart as you try to clean it and/or ditch the wire, some of the replicas come pretty close. There’s also a guy on Etsy who makes wooden plaques in the shape of the state you shot the deer in. They’re really cool if you’re looking to replace to plaque too!

 

[Bowhunter41]

It looks like he cut a large hole in the back to remove the brain. The newest skull was done right that small opening is used and I use a pressure washer. A little messy but it get the brains out.

check your PM

 

[Bowhunter41]

BTW. Welcome to the forum, great group and really helpful

 

[Hunter8319]

I would start with soaking it in water for a day and then brush it. If you see some improvement, do that a couple more times and then move to dawn water.

A great option to hang Euro mounts. The cheapest and most effective I've found.

https://amazeenoutdoors.com/shop/ols/products/amazeen-outdoors-deerbearhog-european-skull-hanger

 

[Psu4d]

What you are looking at is a hack job . There is some rust in whatever water they were using . Then the skull was never properly whitened . I won't tell methods but they didn't understand the process .there is still clearly grease in there ,at this point it's soaked into the bone and pores. And will not be taken out by any means . It's science you can't remove it once it's soaked through. That said you have a few options
1 cut rack off buy a kit and put it on a fake skull epoxy and paint to match
2 cut rack off completely
3 tape off the rack . Spray paint white primer and let it dry and seal. However the grease is still in the bone so at some point you'll have to wipe it down and repaint in the future .