Mr.dogdad Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Hello, I am hoping someone can help me! I have a Daspletosaurus tooth from the old man formation. It was found with a coarse, tar like substance stuck around the tooth (shown in photos) that won’t come off. I’ve tried rubbing acetone but that didn’t work. I tried picking a piece off but the enamel came with it. Are there any alternative methods I can use without risking any damage to the tooth? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Nice tooth. I would have consolidated first then tried a sharp Xacto knife to see if I could pop off the tar. Then.. If tar why not mineral spirts (it dissolves tar) with a cotton swab in a small spot. You may want to try it one of your other broken ones to see if there is any reaction. Lets see what others say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 It looks similar to pyrite.... 1 2 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 I agree, it looks more like pyrite than tar. If so, it may not want to come off at all without taking the enamel with it, as you have experienced. This is pretty common in the late Cretaceous bones I deal with here in Wyoming, and it is often described using words not fit for family viewing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 9 minutes ago, jpc said: I agree, it looks more like pyrite than tar. If so, it may not want to come off at all without taking the enamel with it, as you have experienced. This is pretty common in the late Cretaceous bones I deal with here in Wyoming, and it is often described using words not fit for family viewing. Have you see pyrite on theropod teeth. You will never get it off if it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Looks like pyrite to me as well. It will not come off because it grows into the micro cracks in the tooth. The only thing you can do is remove it from the surface by grinding (wear a respirator). You will definitely want to give this tooth a soak in Paraloid to consolidate and hopefully seal it off from moisture that will let the pyrite decay. 1 Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Not much to be done with this tooth. I wonder . . . Could the tooth be saved by imbedding it in colorless casting resin? Would the pyrite growth be stopped? Would the pyrite eventually "explode" the resin? Would the tooth material be ground to bits within the constraining resin? Anyone ever experimented with casting resin? 1 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Some questions: How long is the tooth out of the ground? Was or is there any white bloom, something like mold, on the tooth? This would be sulfates, resulting from the oxidation of pyrite/marcasite. Could it be, that the pyrite/marcasite is already oxidized to "limonite"? This could have happend in the ground, but near the surface. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.dogdad Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 @FranzBernhard This is how it was sitting on the surface before it was collected. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 Nothing compares to an in-situ shoot! Thank you! More knowledgeable members have now something to ponder! How long do you have the tooth in your collection? Any white blooms since collecting? Any sulfurous, slightly stinging smell? Its all about if there is any unstable pyrite/marcasite in the tooth or if the sulfide has already transformed to stable "limonite". Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hoddson Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 I think your Daspletosaurus should have flossed better before his final nap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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