Pterosaur Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Hi! I recently posted about two weeks ago asking for techniques on repairing a 6' megalodon tooth. I only had about 60% of the tooth to work with, so my intent was to recreate the missing section. I received helpful feedback and support from fossil forum members, and I've finally taken a crack at it. I am pretty excited with how it's coming along, so thought I'd share my progress. Aside from a shattered triceratops rib, this is the only fossil repair I've ever done. I'm still finishing up the back half of the tooth as well as adding more detail to the front (trying to better hide the split). Please let me know what you think and any further advice you may have! Also, in case anyone is interested, the materials I have used so far are: Metal repair epoxy Wood repair epoxy Acrylic paint Clear gloss top-coat Thumb-tack Thanks!! Lauren Edited October 13, 2014 by Aerodactyl 1 "I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave pom Allen Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 awesome job it was worth the effort Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Looks great! Congrats! ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wibrown Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Outstanding job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmo Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Great Job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Hi, Very nice result ! Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 (edited) Outstanding job!!! It is hard to believe that this is your first restoration. For future restorations, one suggestion is blending the area between the real and restored portion of the tooth so you don't see a line. The color match is really good. Another suggestion is matching the shine/gloss a little better as the repaired area is a little duller. (looking at this again, it may be just the lighting in the pictures) I'm sure TFF members could give you suggestions on how to do this. The tooth is now a great specimen. Marco Sr. Edited October 13, 2014 by MarcoSr "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I would say you are a natural. I think we should start calling you the 'meg whisperer'!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunt4teeth Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Thanks for posting the finished product. Very impressive for your first time, and as Marco noted, the color match looks great! Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilselachian Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Impressive start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Amazing job! -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Simply incredible for only the second time doing that! Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterosaur Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thank you all for the positive feedback! Very much appreciated. Also, thank you MarcoSr for your helpful advice. This forum is great. "I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drjohn71a Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) Aero, what a great first project! I don't know how limited you are in how you prepare your original fossil, but we dentists blend composite fillings into enamel by bevelling the substrate surface and then etching with about 35% Phosphoric Acid for 20 seconds or so before flooding the etch with a bonding monomer to which the repair material will adhere. The bevel works better if it is somewhat uneven with random little offshots ( like deep scratches) at differing angles across the bevel and beyond . This prevents the eye's bing drawn to the junction. As for the surface texture, common epoxy repair materials are coarse. There is a great online site for auto body repair materials and instructions which provides a series of epoxy coatings of finer material for final gloss. That is Eastwood.com . They have YouTube videos about sanding/polishing grit orders to achieve final gloss and even sell spray paints that can shine like chrome, brass or polished copper. Also. As is done to repair non-skid boat decks, you could make an impression of the original surface with polyvinyl siloxane or rubber thiokol material and then impress that texture onto the repair material before it set in order to more accurately duplicate the original surface texture. Edited December 7, 2014 by Drjohn71a 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sseth Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Great work. The paint on this tooth is great. _____________________________________ Seth www.fossilshack.com www.americanfossil.com www.fishdig.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drjohn71a Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) So, if I sent you my similarly broken Megalodon tooth, what would you charge to repair it? Outside work? Edited December 7, 2014 by Drjohn71a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 That is frigging fantastic, and as I am a modeler , heck of a job, the match is like 100% dead on. First time,heck ain't fooling me. Jeff Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 That looks great! Nice work Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Aero, what a great first project! I don't know how limited you are in how you prepare your original fossil, but we dentists blend composite fillings into enamel by bevelling the substrate surface and then etching with about 35% Phosphoric Acid for 20 seconds or so before flooding the etch with a bonding monomer to which the repair material will adhere. The bevel works better if it is somewhat uneven with random little offshots ( like deep scratches) at differing angles across the bevel and beyond . This prevents the eye's bing drawn to the junction. As for the surface texture, common epoxy repair materials are coarse. There is a great online site for auto body repair materials and instructions which provides a series of epoxy coatings of finer material for final gloss. That is Eastwood.com . They have YouTube videos about sanding/polishing grit orders to achieve final gloss and even sell spray paints that can shine like chrome, brass or polished copper. Also. As is done to repair non-skid boat decks, you could make an impression of the original surface with polyvinyl siloxane or rubber thiokol material and then impress that texture onto the repair material before it set in order to more accurately duplicate the original surface texture. Thanks for the helpful advice! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Ok, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference at first glance, if not then, never Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Way to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pterosaur Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) Man, I did not expect so much positive feedback... Thank you very much to all of you for such positive and constructive comments. I truly appreciate it. drjohn71a: thank you for taking the time to give your dentistry advice and so many helpful suggestions. I would be happy to repair your specimen. Please message me on here if you would like to talk further. Edited January 13, 2015 by Aerodactyl "I am a part of all that I have met." - Lord Alfred Tennyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sseth Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Amazing work. Fantastic color matching. _____________________________________ Seth www.fossilshack.com www.americanfossil.com www.fishdig.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkjeremiah23 Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Nice Restoration. Probably going to try this on one of my megs, thanks for the inspiration! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Perhaps a restoration service on the horizon...... Looks to be professionally done. I bet you could do good on artifacts as well. I know someone who makes pretty good $ restoring NA artifacts. With practice comes expertise. Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now