European mount

Agree with not putting anything on them. If they get dirty/dusty, just clean them up with soap and water and a soft brush. I've even re-simmered some that were close to 20 years old that had turned a bit yellow from grease, or grungy from dust, and re-peroxided them. The came out looking new. If you paint, you'd have to strip, and that stuff never fully comes off.

The last 4-5 years I've had great luck doing the following, submerge head in water for a few hours, bagging the head in a trash bag (as long as its warm out) and leaving it rot for about a week or so before a simmer in water/dawn/borax. Seems to clean up much faster (vs no bag), and the nasal bones clean up really easy. A few "head helpers" are a bonus. I also pressure wash the gunk off vs scraping, makes getting the cartilage off the bottom and back of the skull a breeze.

I've dropped off a number of them at the taxidermist for later mounting, and he was always impressed at how clean they are compared to his, and other skulls he got in.
 
My beetles are not doing great right now, I'm about to give up and do my first ever attempt at cleaning a skull doing the simmer method.
 

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