Chemicals for prepping

[Francesco1994]

Ciao a tutti !

I wanted to have some information about the use of chemicals for the preparation of fossils, let me explain better.  I'm currently in my second year of PhD in chemistry and I have a wide range of chemicals, bases, polymer acids etc. My question is what could I use for example to clean the limestone matrix compared to the classic diluted acetic acid?  is there anything better that maybe I could have in the lab?  I had thought of some stronger acid but I'm afraid that using something stronger could be detrimental to the fossil itself...

Grazie !

[Ptychodus04]

I've used muriatic acid before. You need to be extremely careful for safety and to protect the fossil. I used it to etch matrix around a track in order to add contrast and make the track more visible.

[Francesco1994]

40 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

I've used muriatic acid before. You need to be extremely careful for safety and to protect the fossil. I used it to etch matrix around a track in order to add contrast and make the track more visible.

The hydrochloric acid that I have in the laboratory is slightly more concentrated than the "commercial" one. Slightly (37% against 30-28 of the commercial one), but perhaps I think it would be better to dilute it much more, being almost or > 1million times stronger than the acetic acid normally used in preparations.