Plant Fossil Prep

[opabinia]

Have a box-ful's worth of fragile plant fossils.

 

I've heard of a glue-water-mix preparation trick but don't know exactly how to do it or if it is the best way to go at it.

 

The fossils are in a sandy-black shale and some are fragile enough to break just by holding them.

 

If this has been posted before just send me a link to the original.

 

Thanks;

[Ptychodus04]

The glue/water mix you are referring to is simply diluted white glue. Forget that you ever heard of it. Order some Butvar B-76 or McGean B-15 PVA (formerly known as Vinac). It can be easily and cheaply had on the internet. Mix 1 part of the plastic with 50 parts acetone by volume. This will dissolve very quickly. Then apply several coats to the specimens with a small brush, allowing the acetone to evaporate between coats.

 

This will consolidate the matrix and harden it without the discoloration and chemical issues present in other methods.

[opabinia]

35 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Order some Butvar B-76 or McGean B-15 PVA (formerly known as Vinac).

 

I'll buy a thing of that.

 

PS I love your evolution quote there. 

[Ptychodus04]

44 minutes ago, opabinia said:

 

I'll buy a thing of that.

 

PS I love your evolution quote there. 

 

I buy my PVA from the http://www.bhigr.com It's pretty cheap and will consolidate hundreds of pieces.

 

The evolution quote was something that just struck me one evening while I was contemplating God/science/faith while working on a prep job (oddly enough, prep work allows a bunch of uninterrupted thinking time).  My thought: Why would an all powerful being bring into existence a universe that requires said being to continually manipulate it for it to function? The answer I cam up with was: The previously mentioned all powerful being would not, therefore evolution is the only logical option.

[opabinia]

11 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

The evolution quote was something that just struck me one evening while I was contemplating God/science/faith while working on a prep job (oddly enough, prep work allows a bunch of uninterrupted thinking time).  My thought: Why would an all powerful being bring into existence a universe that requires said being to continually manipulate it for it to function? The answer I cam up with was: The previously mentioned all powerful being would not, therefore evolution is the only logical option.

 

I always find interest in other fossil hunter's theory on religion (almost all of them are different). I try to stay biased and respect their ideas and feelings. I tend to sway more toward the side of (the famously ridiculed) Deistic/Theistic Evolution...simply because of how some aspects of the universe are so beyond the human mind they could only be filled with some sort of 'all powerful being'. 

[Kane]

@Ptychodus04 Would you recommend the same/similar process to stabilize flaky trilobites in shale? 

[Ptychodus04]

1 hour ago, Kane said:

@Ptychodus04 Would you recommend the same/similar process to stabilize flaky trilobites in shale? 

 

Yes, I would use this process with one modification. If the trilobites are extremely fragile and anxiously waiting to flake off the matrix, I would apply the consolidant with a dropper or by saturating a small artist's brush and barely touching the tip to the specimen. This will allow the solution to wick into the cracks without the chance of accidentally pulling it off the matrix with the bristles.