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Originally Posted by double gun
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Hydrogen peroxide isn't heat activated as you say. It "may" be enhanced. The study posted, which has also been disputed in other tests, tested the effects of heating it to whiten teeth with tobacco and red wine stains and concluded it was enhanced. It's actually not a real good idea to heat hydrogen peroxide. It can be a safety hazard. Its heat sensitive which speeds up decomposition to water and oxygen and without good ventilation oxygen is not your friend.
Boiling skulls or soaking in hot water is not recommended as it can cause yellowing due to grease and oils being set into the bone.
As I mentioned, a brief soak in a high concentrate version of h2o2 gets the job done. Skulls should be degreased and are usually deodorized as part of the process as well.
Beetle - best method of removing flesh. Doesn't blow out the fine bones in the nasal cavity and other areas
Degrease - most taxidermists use borax, sodium hydroxide, or soda ash with Dawn liquid dish soap but there are better, less caustic ways to accomplish the same thing. Dawn is a very mild degreaser/detergent and its main role is to reduce odor.
Deodorize - sometimes accomplished in step 2 but I like a quaternary disinfectant soak
Whiten - via soak in higher concentrate h2o2. The more concentrated the quicker the process. Anything North of 20% is good. It doesn't take long.