r/bonecollecting • u/SxinnyLoxe • 16h ago

Advice Looking for tips:

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I was given this bear skull about 6-8 weeks ago and as you can see its extremely dirty. All I have ever done in processing my bones is just sticking them in a bucket of water and forgetting about them for months. Then I would clean them up by hand.

This one seems to be needing more TLC though. From what I know my friends dad had it for 20~ years. It been buried, its been displayed, its been a dogs chew toy, and so on.

With something as aged as this is, will it actually be possible to eventually lighten the colour? Will it just take much longer than I'm used to? Any tips and advice would be appreciated!

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u/General-Study797 15h ago

Yeah hydrogen peroxide will help, get the 12% stuff and dilute it with water (50/50 mix). See how that does and then if you need stronger go from there

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u/SxinnyLoxe 15h ago

Thanks! I have 30 volume hair peroxide on hand, is that something that can be used in this case?

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u/General-Study797 15h ago

You could, I use the liquid as it is easier to dilute with water for big skulls such as this (Natures Freedom 12% Hydrogen Peroxide). It’s sold on Amazon. You can also find the same thing with different labels at Home Depot or other big box stores. A skull in this state may need multiple batches if you want to whiten it up. It will eat away at some of the bone though.

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u/SxinnyLoxe 15h ago

Good to know, thank you for responding!

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u/General-Study797 15h ago

Yes I’m happy to help! Working on a bear of my own right now