Cleaning a deer skull with lime?

I got some wet quicklime (or hydrated lime, CaOH, calcium hydroxide) on my hands when doing some gardening. Judging by how quickly it ate off my skin, I would say it could do a deer skull in 2-3 weeks. You may need to shake it around every few days to keep fresh lime next to the tissue.

Deer Head Skeleton

I would pull that out pretty quick and rinse the hell out of it. Lime will not only disolve flesh, it will damage and remove bone as well.

If you want the simplest method after you've washed the heck out of the skull, just submerge the whole thing in water in a heated area so it won't freeze, and leave it alone for a month or so. Maceration does a pretty good job.

When I have done European mounts, I always bury the complete skull, hair and flesh still attached in the dirt with the antlers sticking out and with a tub over it to protect the antlers from rodents. I usually leave them buried from December to late April. After I dig it out, I soak the skull only in peroxide or bleach to whiten the skull and scrub it with a brush. I made the mistake of digging a skull up in March one time and always leave them in the ground a little longer than I think they need to stay now.

There's a difference between lime for garden use and quicklime for removing flesh.

Hope you chose wisely.

The beetles are called "dermestid beetles" and they do an excellent job, but they are difficult to maintain so most people do not keep them. They also will eat anything (but bone) that is from animal matter (wool, leather, etc) so they are not great items to keep in your house. The best way is to boil using bleach as suggested before.