Euro Mount Tips and Tricks

Hi @Michael! Thanks for your question. Here are some tips for whitening euro mounts: 1. Use a whitening solution specifically designed for euro mounts. 2. Use a soft brush to scrub the skull with the whitening solution. 3. Rinse the skull with water and allow it to dry. 4. Apply a sealant to the skull to protect it from the elements. Hope this helps! SquatchBot is GoWild’s furry assistant powered by artificial intelligence. He comments on all posts flagged as questions. It’s a good idea to also ask a human.

Low boil with dawn dish soap till all the meat is removed easily, take water hose and rinse out what’s let of the brains and nasal cavity, wrap base of horns in electrical tape get fresh water and peroxide to whitening skull, the tape keeps it from whitening the horns. Don’t use bleach just a steamy water and peroxide solution.

I mix baking soda and peroxide until it has the consistency of toothpaste. Brush it on the skull and set in the sun for an afternoon and then rinse. If pieces of the nose fall off, it’s a sign that it was over boiled. I simmer only and after removing as much tissue as possible and then pressure wash.

@Mike the baking soda and peroxide sounds like a much easier process then what I’ve done in the past. Thanks a lot for the tips! Your euro mounts look great!!

@Michael 👊👍

I use beauty shop products that are mixed into a paste, brushed on left overnight then washed on

Take it to a taxidermist I won’t cost much

@Bruce thanks for the tip!

Your welcome

I usually just use super glue for cracked pieces and it a little before whitening. Those nose joints can be tricky if you try pressure washing the skull and I almost always break one or both off.

@Parker I agree it can be tricky! Thanks for the tip!

Tip for hanging use mounting brackets holds the skull up a little better they’re 4 bucks a piece

I personally boil in oxiclean then use power washer to get all meat off then after it’s clean I boil in 1-1 ration of water and 40% liquid developer for 5-10 min to get a white skull. But u have to wrap the Antlers before so you don’t end up whiting the antlers

You can either boil them longer or cover horns and bleach in sun but they may become brittle

https://youtu.be/vONz6PUl-XQ

Once you get all the meat off the skull wrap the base of the antlers in electrical tape, and sit the skull in in something that will allow you to submerged underwater. Once you have it submerged put a whole bottle of hydrogen peroxide and about a quarter of a red solo cup of bleach. Give it three days, then set it out to dry for 24 hours. After that seal the skull by painting it with multiple coatings of Elmers glue the glue dry clear. And leave a waxy feeling to the skull . When bleaching the skull, make sure none of the antler is touching the solution it will remove the color from the antler.

I use dermestid beetles and pool clarifier to whiten my skulls! A little super glue on the nose bones. If your skulls are yellowing they need to be degreased in a bucket of warm water and dawn dish soap for a few days before soaking in the clarifier.

I boiled my with dawn soap. I would boil for 30 min then pressure wash it. Repeated that process multiple times. Sooo easy. I used a Ryobi pressure washer so I didn’t have to worry so much about damaging the skull. I also used a long skinny screw driver to help scrape some areas. Would 100% try doing it if you have the supplies. I enjoyed doing it

Bucket of water and a fish tank heater comes out wicked good it’s called Maceration

I bought a turkey boiler and boil my head with soap and water for 2-3 hours to break up the fat and make it easier to cut off everything on the skull. You can use a air hose to blow the brain out of the head without having to mush it. After cleaning all excess meat (none visible and can’t feel anything) I boil the skull in peroxide and water for another 2-3 hours depending on how white you want it (may be longer).

Peroxide

@Dakota if doing a euro buck mount make sure to use electrical tape and seran wrap on the base of the antlers do you don’t have any discolorations. I forgot to mention that when boiling the skull be careful that the bone will feel brittle. After the peroxide bath I let it air dry for a couple days before mounting

A hydro dip would be cool

Maceration, it’s a little stinky, but by far the best method I have used and as far as whitening get you some liquid peroxide from any haircutting place and use a turkey baster to put it on. It works very very well.

I like mine hydro dipped

The reason for the crack is the boil got to hot… you could fix that by putting it back in a low heated simmer for a while and when you pull it out wrap it with a rubber band let it cool and it should stay… After you whiten it with volume 40 peroxide you can squeeze the crack together and use a dot of super glue to hold it.

@Michael

Simmer for 2 hours, then powerwash (40° nozzle) , let it dry, put a coat of volume 40 peroxide on the skull, let it sit for 2 hours then rinse it off, let it dry, put super glue on the nose pieces even if they are still in place. The powerwasher is 100 times faster and I've never had an issue.

@Hunter can you send me a link to those? That’s a great price, nothing I’ve seen comes that cheap! Love to find a deal like that

HOME MASTER HARDWARE Handrail Stair Brackets Heavy Duty Staircase Hand Rail Bracket Matte Black 6 Pack https://a.co/d/gXgnLhg

@Michael check out below here’s the result

Keep the skull off of the sides and bottom of the pot. Over heating will disintegrate the bone.

Lower jaw looks good on them

You will want to macerate not boil in my opinion. Once clean of meat you want to degrease. Which is just that warm water method jsut like maceration but then add some dish soap. Then vol 40 peroxide to whiten.

It’ll take a little time to sift through all of their content, but the links below are great resources for euro mounting. The first one is good for fresh kills you’re looking to euro and the second is a good resource if you have a skull that you’re looking to whiten after all of the hide and meat has been removed by the elements. https://youtube.com/@WHITEBONE or https://youtube.com/@usskullhunter

I usually slow boil light with dawn dish soap. I am talking single bubble boil. Every 1 and 1/2 or 2 hours take pressure washer or good nosle pressure house and clean the rest of the meat, and brains out. Wire brush or thin screw driver to chop up brains and spray with water to clean out. I use salon 40 peroxide with foam and light paint brush 2 coats. Xacto knife is ideal to help skin and remove meat from deer.

@Luke oxyclean and liquid developer are new ones that I havnt heard before, very interesting! Thanks for the tips!

@Ryan

@Ryan

@Andrew using the sun to bleach them sounds like it would take a while! Have you used that method? Did you have good results? How long does it need to stay out?

@Giles I’ll check that out! Thanks!!

@Bryce Elmer’s glue sounds like a cheap and easy method of sealing that I havnt heard of before! Thanks a lot for the tip!

@Lisa fantastic!! That’s a beautiful buck and a well done euro mount! Thanks for the tips!

@Connor there’s a great sense of pride with mounting your own game, isn’t there? I enjoy it as well! I will for sure look into the ryobi power washer that sounds perfect for this type of project. Thanks for the tips!

@Mitch fish tank heater is a neat idea I’m sure it regulates heat better then most ideas I’ve heard of! I’ll look into that method! Thanks a lot!

@Dakota a turkey boiler is something I’ve seen used but I’ve not used myself, seems like a very effective way of doing it! Thanks for the tips!

@Bowhunting thanks!!

@Michael hope it’s helpful!

@Dakota awesome!! Thanks for the tips!!

@Noah a taxidermist near me does them for a couple hundred dollars if you haven’t cleaned the skull at all I think they’re super neat but the clean white skulls are so cool to me. Like God’s art!

@Mario ohh yeah the turkey baster!! I forgot my dad used to use that when he did his he was much better at it then me. I’m just trying to get better! Thanks for the tips!

@Rick those are super neat!! Thanks for sharing!!

@Michael yeah all you do is let it sit for 2 weeks and just change water every 3 days and when all the flesh is gone soak it in peroxide and some dawn dish soap until it’s as white as you want it the only downside is the bacteria it creates stinks but it’s definitely the cheapest option and comes out better I think than boiling it or using the beetles

@Ryan terrific!! Volume 40 peroxide sounds familiar I believe that’s what my late father used! I’ll have to give that a shot cause boy do those skulls look amazing! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the tips!

@Matthew some sweet bucks! Thanks for sharing!

@Mark sounds similar to processes I’ve used in the past! I’ll have to keep the details you shared in mind next time I do one! Thanks for the help!

@Hunter very interesting!! And they just go into the brain cavity? Or do they attach some other way to the skull

@Hunter that does look really awesome! Thanks for the recommendation!!

@Hostile that’s a good tip!! Now I see why guys put something across the antlers to hold the skull up so no part of it is touching the metal of the pot. Thank you!!

@Michael I agree! Unfortunately a couple of mine broke when I was doing them so I tossed them out. I’m learning now that the could have probably been glued but too late now. I’ll keep in mind for future! Great buck by the way! Thanks for sharing!

@Shayna all these people posting about maceration technique has me very interested to try it out!! Sounds like everyone who’s done it highly recommends it! Thanks a lot for the tips!

@Nate fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing these links! I’ll definitely browse through them before working on my next project!

@Ryan sounds like a good process! I think the salon 40 peroxide is a major key to whitening I’ve been hearing that a lot! Thanks for the tips!!

@Ryan what an awesome buck and well done euro mount!! Thanks for sharing!

@Ryan see the stick is one of the things I’ve been missing that I think was the cause of the broken nose bones… thanks for the share!

@Mitch not going to lie it does sound quite stinky 😂 but hey if it gets the job done well who cares right?? Thanks again!!

@Michael brain cavity all day

@Hunter I know what I’m getting my hunting buddies (and myself) for Christmas!! 😂😂 the ones I’ve seen specifically made for skulls are like $100 this is so much more affordable and sensible!

Boil with arm and hammer super soda for 10-15 min tops pressure wash the skull clean then use 40volume clear developer and water mix put the skull down in it bring water to a simmer and turn it off don’t let the skull sit in it for more than 15 minutes or it will etch the bone. Make sure to wrap antlers with electrical tape when you use the chemical.

@Tyson awesome!! Thanks a lot for the tips! Those are some real nice bucks and well done euro mounts!

@Michael thank you sir!

@Tyson you’re very welcome!

After boiling in borax and cleaning with power washer and dental picks I use Salon 40 Hydrogen peroxide cream. Then a seal it with a coat of Mod Podge

I also use a electric roaster pain to “cook”my heads … works great

@David wow that’s a really nice looking mount! Thanks for the tips!

Boil it till meet falls off and I make sure all the chunks are off and then right to pressure washer then I get a bug ass thing of water and throw a bunch of whiteninting solutions in it boom

@Michael glad I could help I found those in my shed and said that might work