Carbon Film Fossil Cleaning And Contrast

[sticksandstones]

Hello All,

I was surprised with a couple boxes of what appears to be fern and horsetail fossils in very soft, dusty rock - some are imprinted and some have a carbon film. I am an absolute beginner on preparation of fossils(this is my first time), and all the materials I have are paint brushes and sewing needles. I googled the best way to clean dirt off of carbon film, to no avail. I tried a little bit of water and gently wiping the dirt, but it ended up removing the film(luckily on a less important piece). So I attempted to chip away the dirt with a sewing needle which is working much, much better, but as I remove the dirt, the rock is nearly the exact same color as some of the fossils making them kind of hard to see. I still find them really attractive pieces and would like to display them, though, as one is a nearly full fern branch.

So, a few questions:

• Is there a better way to go about cleaning these with limited supplies?

• Is there a way to increase the contrast between the fossil and the rock?

• There are a few breaks due to the soft rock, possibly mudstone? Most are fairly clean breaks, though some are a bit wider and don't fit perfectly. The best I can do at the moment is super glue, but is there a better way to attach the broken bits? Preferrably cheap-ish, college student here.

• Would artist's fixatif in matte be good for preserving them? I saw it mentioned elsewhere here.

My phone is being a pain right now, but I'll try to get photos as soon as possible.

Thank you for any help!

[ZiggieCie]

Welcome to the Forum. I am sure others will come up with help on this.

[sticksandstones]

Welcome to the Forum. I am sure others will come up with help on this.

Thanks so much ZiggieCie!

[Fossildude19]

Helllo, and welcome to the Forum.

Some of the members here use hairspray to consolidate carbonized fossils.

Also, some have used dextrin to paint over the fossil, and give it a bit of contrast from the matrix.

As far as cleaning them off, .. that is a tough one.

You could try to wet the matrix with a damp sponge, to see if that will loosen the dirt a bit more to remove with the needles.

Good luck, and welcome, again.

Regards,

[sticksandstones]

Helllo, and welcome to the Forum.

Some of the members here use hairspray to consolidate carbonized fossils.

Also, some have used dextrin to paint over the fossil, and give it a bit of contrast from the matrix.

As far as cleaning them off, .. that is a tough one.

You could try to wet the matrix with a damp sponge, to see if that will loosen the dirt a bit more to remove with the needles.

Good luck, and welcome, again.

Regards,

Thank you Tim!

I've had some luck with wetting the matrix with a qtip then slowly chipping away softened bits with a needle. It's helped quite a lot with uncovering some really nice fern pieces! I'll look into getting some dextrin for contrast. Wouldn't hairspray eventually yellow over time?

Thanks again for your help!

[ZiggieCie]

One thing we learn, working on fossils, is patience.