Quote Originally Posted by perch
Gigmaster ,
That was the best ,bar none, explaination that I have seen on this site(and there are a lot of sharp folkes that visit here too!!).
Wow.
Perch

If you boil the skull for a few hours that might work too. Cool souveneer.
P.
If you want to preserve the skull, here is the accepted process that museums use.

1. First, determine if the skull is decayed. If it is, you'll want to work with it OUTSIDE, as the smell will be disagreeable to many. Remove as much tissue (carefully) as possible and freeze the skull if it is not to be prepared immedeatly.

2. The initial step in cleaning a skull is boiling. The hair and hide should be removed. They contain oils that permeate the bone when boiled and the result is a yellow, greasy skull. If the skull cannot be cleaned soon after the animal's death, freeze it. Rotting skulls are no fun to clean and may cause a revolt in the household. If the skull is malodorous from decay, it will be repugnant during boiling. In this situation, boil it on a camp stove outside, or in the garage, in a castaway pot.

3. Immerse the skull in water and let simmer. A thawed wolf or bear skull requires 2.0 to 3.0 hours of simmering. Smaller skulls, such as marten, fox or lynx, take about 40 to 60 minutes. Skulls from old age animals often require longer. Frozen skulls will take about 15 to 30 minutes longer. The skull is ready to be cleaned when the muscle pulls off easily. Do not boil the skull too long it can crack the teeth and soften the bone. It is best to remove the meat and brain tissue while they are still quite warm. Once cooled and dry, thorough removal of tissue is more difficult. Remove any loose teeth and save them for re-insertion later.

4. Use a small knife (a scalpel works great if you have one) to gently scrape away stubborn tissue, but take care not to cut or mar the bone. Nerve and connective tissue can be teased out of holes and crevices with a wire or large tweezers. The tough part is cleaning inside the cranium (brain case). This is done through the foramen. Curved hemostats are worth thier weight in gold for smaller skulls, as they can fit right through the foramen and gently pluck tissue loose. A small spoon is handy for scooping out remaining brain matter. Flush the skull with water several times during this process to remove loose tissue.

5. There are very delicate scroll-like bones in the nasal cavities. If you wish to preserve them, be very gentle. Flushing water through the nasal cavities will remove much of the tissue.

6.When you have the skull as clean as you can get it, soak it in an enzyme-bleach powder such as Biz, at a concentration of 3/4 of a cup of detergeant to 1 gallon of water. DO NOT USE CHLOROX OR CHLORINE BLEACH! It is very harsh on the bones, and your safety. The fumes are toxic and can react with all kinds of material to produce deadly gas. It also does not have the required enzyme action. Large skulls (Bison, Deer, etc..) should soak for 3 days. Smaller skulls should soak at least 36 hours.

7. Use a stiff-bristled brush, scalpel and small knife for final cleaning. Remove all the last stubborn tissue from the skull. Dry, wipe and polish the skull with a soft absorbant cloth (old T-shirts are the best for this). Using a small amount of Elmers (or similar white glue), re-insert the loose teeth back into thier sockets. Allow the glue to set for a few hours before doing anything major to the skull, such as mounting, etc...

Now, you have a museum-quality skull for display, painting, mounting or anything else you may wish to use it for. It will last indefinitly with periodic care. Entire skeletons can be preserved the same way.

Semper Fi!