Thread: Velvet Skull-Acetone to finish velvet

Hi there,

I have a hard velvet Fallow skull,i have skun it,bled the tips and let dry out,all velvet is in tact. I watched a tutorial and the guy painted/drenched his velvet with acetone to dry cure i suppose you could call it,then brushed up the hairs and let dry! Has anyone else tried this method?
He Also wrapped the head in a type of glad wrap, zip tied the coronet and then put tin foil on antlers,then boiled the skull to clean it up further. Has anyone tried this method also?
Cheers.

I also cant answer your question about velvet, but just to elaborate on above advice. You cannot use chlorine bleach on it, but peroxide bleach is fine. Burying skulls in my experience will stain the skull and loosen up the plates, would not recommend unless you just want to bung it on your garage or fence or something.

I used formaldehyde I think it was on my velvet antlers . Kills off any bacteria and prevents rot .
Just brushed it on . Was how I was told to do it 30 yrs ago.... Unfortunately I no longer have those antlers but were still looking good 10 yrs later...
Might be worth a call to a taxidermist for advice ?

Great thanks< ill let you all know how I get on for future reference for anyone else wanting to do it!

https://www.taxidermy.net/threads/367018/
On this forum post someone says to use alcohol , then borax, then alcohol... or something like that.
https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/c...t-deer-antlers
On this website they say they use formaldehyde.

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I used formaldehyde I think it was on my velvet antlers . Kills off any bacteria and prevents rot .
Just brushed it on . Was how I was told to do it 30 yrs ago.... Unfortunately I no longer have those antlers but were still looking good 10 yrs later...
Might be worth a call to a taxidermist for advice ?

Formaldehyde is probably the best way to go but i don't think it is an easy chemical to get, is it? Id love to get some to wet preserve small things.

Originally Posted by mimms2

Adding salt or bleach to the water will whiten them quicker but bleach will make it brittle, might not be such an issue for an indoor mount you're going to finish with some kind of oil/varnish, but if it's going to rattle round the shed or weather then I'd stay away from bleach.

Id stay away from bleach. Hydrogen peroxide is good, does the job very well and does not ruin the bone as much as bleach does. Just need a tiny bit.

Great thanks. I have spoken with a taxidermist and acetone seems to be the safest option as formaldehyde is a little potent and not nice to work with. Apparently acetone should give similar results.

Originally Posted by tekaihangafarm

Hi there,

I have a hard velvet Fallow skull,i have skun it,bled the tips and let dry out,all velvet is in tact. I watched a tutorial and the guy painted/drenched his velvet with acetone to dry cure i suppose you could call it,then brushed up the hairs and let dry! Has anyone else tried this method?
He Also wrapped the head in a type of glad wrap, zip tied the coronet and then put tin foil on antlers,then boiled the skull to clean it up further. Has anyone tried this method also?
Cheers.

I have tried it with velvet roe bucks. Only that I used ethanol instead of acetone. Worked great. You might also want to apply an insectiside to keep bugs off.