Suggestions needed for my Keichousaurus

[violinistt]

Hello,

The photo below is my personal collection of Keichousaurus. The bones of this piece seems very fragile to me. I am considering of applying paraloid b72 dissolve in acetone in hope of strengthening the bones.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed!

[Huntonia]

Dissolve the paraloid in the acetone at a ratio of 1 to 50 based on weight, then apply a thin layer using a paintbrush. This will likely make your fossil look a bit shiny. If you don't like that look you can use a Q-tip with a little bit of acetone to carefully remove the top layer.

[violinistt]

8 minutes ago, Huntonia said:

Dissolve the paraloid in the acetone at a ratio of 1 to 50 based on weight, then apply a thin layer using a paintbrush. This will likely make your fossil look a bit shiny. If you don't like that look you can use a Q-tip with a little bit of acetone to carefully remove the top layer.

Thank you for the reply. Do you suggest applying the paraloid only to the bones or the entire piece?

[Huntonia]

5 minutes ago, violinistt said:

Thank you for the reply. Do you suggest applying the paraloid only to the bones or the entire piece?

Depends, if you think the matrix is stable (which I'd imagine it is, you probably don't need to apply it past the fossil itself. The problem is it appears from the image that there's a repaired crack, if there is, than if you use the mixture too liberally it could destabilize the crack and cause the entire piece to break in two. 

[FranzBernhard]

This looks like a very nice, mostly unprepped(??) specimen.

1 hour ago, Huntonia said:

repaired crack

Looks like a natural fracture to me (the nearly horizontally fracture through the middle). I think, I can see some displacement of the spine at this crack. 

1 hour ago, Huntonia said:

than if you use the mixture too liberally it could destabilize the crack

Indeed! Just check out this crack. Is it stable, are there any open gaps? If it is unstable, you could apply a few little drops of thin superglue at the backside of the specimen into the crack. But only a little bit, you won´t like it to seep it to the front side of the specimen. Remember, superglue is soluble in acetone!

Franz Bernhard

[violinistt]

There are no open backs. It’s just the stones are not so stable in my opinion.

Personally, I like this type of unprepared fossil

[FranzBernhard]

3 minutes ago, violinistt said:

It’s just the stones are not so stable in my opinion.

I am remembering that there are different kinds of matrix for these Keichs. One is called "steel slab", as far as I can remember (yours is not a "steel slab", I think). What are the other types and how stable are they?

 

4 minutes ago, violinistt said:

Personally, I like this type of unprepared fossil

I like them also. Yours looks really good the way it is, with quite a lot 3D.
Franz Bernhard

[violinistt]

2 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

This looks like a very nice, mostly unprepped(??) specimen.

Looks like a natural fracture to me (the nearly horizontally fracture through the middle). I think, I can see some displacement of the spine at this crack. 

Indeed! Just check out this crack. Is it stable, are there any open gaps? If it is unstable, you could apply a few little drops of thin superglue at the backside of the specimen into the crack. But only a little bit, you won´t like it to seep it to the front side of the specimen. Remember, superglue is soluble in acetone!

Franz Bernhard

 

Does the Paraloid B72 repair the natural cracks and stabilize them?

If so, do you suggest putting some over the cracks?

[FranzBernhard]

1 hour ago, violinistt said:

Does the Paraloid B72 repair the natural cracks and stabilize them?

If so, do you suggest putting some over the cracks?

Sorry, I have no experience with Paralooid B72 etc.

More knowledgeable member will give expert advice, please wait before you do anything.

Meanwhile, I have found the thread mentioning "steel slab", "hard slab" etc.:

Franz Bernhard

[violinistt]

20 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Sorry, I have no experience with Paralooid B72 etc.

More knowledgeable member will give expert advice, please wait before you do anything.

Meanwhile, I have found the thread mentioning "steel slab", "hard slab" etc.:

Franz Bernhard

 

Thank you for sharing the post.

Mine is most likely a shale!

Still waiting for opinions from other experts 

[Bobby Rico]

On my specimen I added a resin to the back of the plate to strengthen it.  it was done a long time ago and I can’t remember with what I used. As my friend said @FranzBernhard thin super glue on the back of the plate is best and wont change the look. With these it is not really the bones that that need strengthening but the matrix. another idea is to get a box frame made for it and backing the fossil with a board old museum style . 
 

This is an example from the Teylers museum in the Netherlands. 

[Ptychodus04]

On 9/28/2020 at 3:13 AM, violinistt said:

 

Does the Paraloid B72 repair the natural cracks and stabilize them?

If so, do you suggest putting some over the cracks?

Paraloid is effectively a glue. The strength comes from the plastic deposited in any open void in the fossil or matrix. The 1:50 ratio that I've recommended for years penetrates deeply into fossil bone and porous matrices. It does not deposit a large amount of plastic so, sometimes multiple applications are needed. It will soak into shale somewhat. You can apply a thicker consistency solution on the reverse and allow to dry or use it as an adhesive to mount the plate to a backing.

[RJB]

  @Ptychodus04  Kris to the rescue.  Kris always has a great way of explaining things.   I wish I had that quality but good luck with your great lookin specimen.

 

RB

[Ptychodus04]

37 minutes ago, RJB said:

  @Ptychodus04  Kris to the rescue.  Kris always has a great way of explaining things.   I wish I had that quality but good luck with your great lookin specimen.

 

RB

You have other gifts my friend. I’m humbled by your prepping skills and after spending a few days in a quarry with you, I’m convinced you have the gift of gab!! 

[violinistt]

Thank you for all the feedbacks!

Here is a photo of my fossil after applying Paraloid B72. The bone appearance is very much enhanced, somewhat very wet (I followed the mixture ratio suggested by most experts)

I don’t know if the wet appearance will remain or it will dry out after several days.  

[Ptychodus04]

30 minutes ago, violinistt said:

I don’t know if the wet appearance will remain or it will dry out after several days.  

 

It will remain. The sheen is caused by a solid layer of plastic that is deposited on the surface of the bone. You can remove this with acetone on a q-tip or soft toothbrush without removing the plastic that has deposited in the bone itself.

[violinistt]

2 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

It will remain. The sheen is caused by a solid layer of plastic that is deposited on the surface of the bone. You can remove this with acetone on a q-tip or soft toothbrush without removing the plastic that has deposited in the bone itself.

Will the acetone by itself damage the bones? 

[Ptychodus04]

9 minutes ago, violinistt said:

Will the acetone by itself damage the bones? 

No. Don’t scrub hard. Lightly rub the brush, q-tip, cloth soaked in acetone over the surface of the bones and the acetone will dissolve the Paraloid. You may need to do this a couple times to achieve a reduced sheen.

[violinistt]

Very fun to play with!

Here are some results 

Thanks people for all the advices 

[Ptychodus04]

Much better!!

[Malcolmt]

Good job looks much better in my opinion

 

[fishguy]

Looks great