Decided to do another Euro, this time on my 2016 archery 11 pointer. Will start the peroxide soak tomorrow.

AntiWheeze.... remember this process? LOL

I am gonna do my buck Friday. I know you know this but anybody who hasn't tried it, don't do it inside. It just plain stinks Can't wait to see the results.

Yeah it's all a very messy process.

I've done 5 total over years, 3 deer, my bear, and one of my boars....
Well one year Wheeze wanted to know how so he could do one of his. When he got done, he said "MAN, I'LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!" LOL

But each one gets easier as you learn.

I just bury mine in the ground up to the antlers, put a tub over it, put a big rock on the tub and in about May or June, dig it up and It is clean. I just hose it off. Yes, you have to wait months but it is a lot less mess.

Yep, that works!

I know some people that tie a rope (or something) to the antlers and throw them into pond... I hear it's a little faster than the burial method!?!

I just wouldn't want the antlers to discolor... nor lose the bark on the bases!

I'm doing one of those antler mount kits on my half racked buck and next time I gladly pay someone to do it... I boiled it in my kitchen and yes it makes a less than pleasurable smell...

The only thing I didn't do was cover the bottom part of the rack to keep the bleach off so I the bottom part is white... I only bleached it to kill off any left over bacteria to prevent any rotting or smell...

Gonna see if I can have a guy at work finish it up as I do not have the proper tools to cut it but other than that it is ready to go...

I've done them a few times too, but now use a fellow who gets beetles. When I get them back they are slick and perfect.

Looks fun lol I have taken mine to a guy with beetles before worked pretty good

I just bury mine until spring, leave antlers above ground and cover with barrel, wheel barrow whatever. Dig up, clean up n paint the skull.

Lazy mans euro

To each his own... I don't like painted skulls, they look fake!

I don't even like the real bright white unpainted skulls. I like mine to look more natural... I just speed up the process!

I have buried several too. I do like the look they get but I boiled the last couple. I really like the look they get when sunbleached.

And here is my FINISHED product... 2 days work!

Nice!

Nice Ernie!

I just did mine too. Skinned it out, boiled it with some Dawn dish soap in the water for about an hour. Used my power washer to blast it clean. Then sat it in he sun with a good coating of Volume 40 cream for three days. Ghost white. I sealed mine with spray on fungicide enamel that I bought for these kinds of projects.

Yours turned out great!

Yours turned out looking real good. I have heard of the pond method too and thought about trying that. Do you know if that does a decent job and will it discolor the antlers any?

Parker, I've never really seen before and after (from pond method). And you can't always believe what someone says on Facebook... but a guy replied to one of my postings and said that this one (pic below) was thrown in a pond and retrieved late spring/summer. It doesn't look bad to me!?!




Derek... post a pic of yours!

Here is where I decided to hang this Euro....

Thanks for the info BowBo. I like where you put yours. looks really neat and creative. good job!!

This thread reminds me of my Indiana Buck I did from last year. Fun to do Euro's...

Here is one that I did, and then camo dipped (camo film).

Here are ones that I worked on this past week. This was the first time I used the power washer method and let me tell you that it is by far the easiest/fastest way that I have ever done this.

Here is my buck in a boil of water and Dawn dish soap (the soap helps pull the oils out of the skull).


Here is mine after the boil and power wash.


Here are two bucks that a friend from Ohio gave me 7 or 8 years ago to do. I had skinned them years ago and then put them in a plastic bin with holes for bugs to get in, then I forgot about them ... LOL. I had to boil/re-hydrate what was left, you can see they came clean but very stained (as of today, I almost have them white though).


Here are all 3 heads on my cattle fence on the first day. They have been coated in Volume 40 cream and the sun/heat helps the reaction with the bone.


Here is mine bright white. This was after 3 days of sitting in the sun with the Volume 40. After this photo, I sealed it and it is ready for the wall.


As for the other two. They were so stained, that they needed more sun/volume 40 time. They are getting there though. I am betting another 5 or 6 days and they will be perfect and ready for sealing. I have them out in the sun again on the cattle fence as I type this.

It had been probably 10 years since I had done a skull project and I forgot how easy they are and how nice they turn out. I will be doing more, as shoulder mounts are kind of wearing off for my taste at the house.

Great deer, Bowbo. Google skull mount paint dipping. I have done this to couple of Euro mounts and it really looks cool and is very easy (and cheap). Just a thought.

What do you seal them with,Derek? Doesn't leave a gloss finish, does it?

I don't like the paint, nor shiny finishes. I like the natural looking flat white!

Other than the camo film dipped one that I did, the other 4 are flat white... no sealer. Some have been done since early 90's with no break-down. So I may not bother with a sealer anyway.

I was told to use this stuff years ago by a taxi friend of mine.

http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Polytranspar-Sealers-C2782.aspx

It leaves kind of a satin finish that dulls over time.

Recently, I have read that a good finish sealer is to brush on Mop & Glow that you use on floors. I have not tried this yet though.

Great job, fellas! Those ALL look awesome!

This is my 2015 buck.


and after harvest

Nice.

So lesson learned the other day. I knew better, but wear clothes that you don't care about when doing the whitening. I went out to my barn to apply a new coat of Volume 40 (this time I mixed in some Basic White to thicken it into more of a paste). I was wearing a brand new T-shirt that I bought recently. I figured "what could go wrong?". Well, I dropped my guard while working on the older Ohio bucks, and let a skull slip in hand. I caught the skull using my arm and chest ... whitening compound all over the T-shirt. I instantly stripped the shirt off of me and began running cold water over it, then threw it in the washing machine. When it came out ... yep ... completely bleached out and ruined. A $20 brand new T-shirt down the drain ... LOL.

Wear clothes that you don't care about!

Here is the before and after of those two Ohio bucks that my friend gave to me to do for him several years ago. Again, I forgot about them and after I removed the bulk of the meat, I let them sit in a closed plastic container in the woods with a few holes to let bugs in. The result after 7 or 8 years was horrible stains and nasty dry flesh. But they ended up cleaning up and whitening out nicely. It took several applications of a mix of Volume 40 and Basic White along with sitting in the sun to bleach them out. I ended up wrapping them in clear plastic wrap to keep the moisture in the whiteners in, yet let the UV sunshine and heat of the sun in. That combo kicked the stains in the back side after about a week. I texted a photo to my buddy and he is pretty excited to finally have them coming back to him. I think he is coming to hunt this weekend so he can take them home with him.