Cleaning an elk skull plate

crimedog · Oct 4, 2016

I just got my elk antlers back from the taxidermist. At this time I don't have the money for the mount so I wanted to put the Antlers on a plaque and then when the money is there do the full mount. He will have the cape tanned and hold it for me (probably until spring and tax returns)

I need to clean up the skull plate and in reading about it a lot say you can take a power washer to it. Tape off the Antlers so they are protected and just use the power sprayer to get everything off. Have any of you guys done this? It seems like a much easier way to go then boiling it. It's not the full skull just the plate.

mmwb · Oct 4, 2016

If you aren't in too much of a hurry, maceration works well. Submerge the plate in a bucket of water and let the bacteria do the work. If you put a $20 fish tank heater in the water, it'll be clean in a week and a half or two. Cut the big stuff off first.

Ncole · Oct 4, 2016

Yes you can pressure wash it. You might have to scrape some and pick at it a little but if your going to have it mounted then you don't need to worry about it being pretty if you scratch it up. Just try not to spray the horns to much like you said but even the color can be touched up if need be.

travishunter3006 · Oct 4, 2016

I do my own euros. I boil and then hit with my 1600 psi pressure washer.

I then soak for two days in regular peroxide that one would use for a cut and then coat in borax until dry. pack brain cavity with borax until full.

No stink. White skulls. Look good!

elkantlers · Oct 4, 2016

Make sure you do the skull good. It will be that way forever. If you don't do the mount now you never will.

Soj51hopeful · Oct 4, 2016

I have pressure washed deer heads before boiling. It works great but be careful in weak thin areas as the washer will break through.

DeerHunter53 · Oct 5, 2016

My kid and I just did ours last week in Idaho. That is a Chronic Wasting disease state so we had to boil the skulls and get the brain matter out before bringing them back to our state.
We boiled them for about 30 minutes on a "full boil" and then cleaned the skulls with knives to take off the big stuff. We wrapped the skulls in a plastic bag and then taped them with duct tape. When we got home we took them and took a power washer to them. The fact that we had wrapped them loosened the meat on there so the power washer took it all off. Don't over boil them as that can make the skull soft and sometimes the antlers can fall off. If that happens then glue them back on. Keep in mind this is not the best way to do them. If your antlers are of trophy caliber I believe you should have a professional do it. My kid and I have been doing our own skulls now for about ten years and have several that are just fine and you can't tell a professional did not do them.
Don't over boil that is the key and don't leave them wrapped for longer than a day or two at the most

crimedog · Oct 5, 2016

It's not the full skull just where the antlers were cut off. The mount will be done in the spring when tax returns come in

NilsFrost · Oct 5, 2016

TSP is a heavy duty cleaner and de-greaser. It comes in liquid and powder form. I prefer using the powder. It can be found in paint section of Home Depot, near stuff like turpentine and varsol.
Quite honestly, after boiling my euro's in water with TSP I completly skip the bleaching part. I might get whiter skulls from bleaching but I like the way they look without bleaching. Saves me time and money.