Questions about chemical preparation

[gigantoraptor]

Hello all,

 

Me and my friend would like to start practicing chemical preparation. Neither of us have done that before. We were mainly wondering what types of commercially available fossils are fit to practice this on? I know of limestone fossils like Keichousaurus, but that seems quite expensive for a first try. Neither of us lives close enough to a fossil location to reallistically obtain this way. So I tried to make a list of items that are not too hard to find unprepared. My friend has quite a bit of experience with working with chemicals, but doesn't know what chemicals would work with what rocks. It has also never been my strong side. Do you think chemical preparation would work on any of these fossils?

 

-Schlaifhausen ammonites blocks

-Khouribga fossils (don't think I've ever seen chemical preparation on this)

-Spirifers from Barvaux, Belgium (been here a couple of times so have quite a few of those)

 

Would love to hear more suggestions if anyone has any?

 

We do not have the room to afford the other tools for mechanical prep, hence why we want to try it this way.

 

[Ptychodus04]

The easiest acid prep is on limestone matrices. You want to use formic or acetic acid and a 5% solution. Add 1 gram of calcium phosphate per 1000 ml of solution as a buffer (if you're working on vertebrate material) to keep the acid from etching the bones. Alternate the specimen between acid baths and fresh water for equal amounts of time. After the water bath, dry off your specimen and apply Paraloid to any exposed bones. Don't worry about the fact that the paraloid turns white when applied to wet specimens. You'll remove it with acetone when you're finished. Then repeat the process until you are satisfied with the prep. Use acetone to remove the cloudy paraloid. Once the specimen is completely dry, apply paraloid to the bones if needed.