How to clean and preserve a mammoth tooth with part of a jaw

[Shomi]

Hi guys, can someone please help me by telling me how to clean and preserve a mammoth tooth. My dad got this mammoth tooth from an archeologist about 20 years ago. In that time it was never cleaned and it is really dry and a bit crumbly. I would like to clean it and preserve it, it would be a shame to watch it turn to dust.

[Ptychodus04]

Very nice specimen. Here's what I would do...

 

The matrix looks to be mostly soft so I would take a brush and apply a small amount of acetone to an area and use a dental pick to remove the sediment. You can also use a cloth dampened in acetone to wipe away residue. DO NOT use water. sub-fossil bone is hydrophilic and will quickly absorb water and become even more brittle. Once you have the specimen clean, procure some Paraloid, Butvar, or Vinac (McGean B-15).

 

Dissolve the plastic in acetone using a ratio of 50 parts acetone to 1 part plastic by volume. slowly pour, drop, or brush this onto any exposed cancellous bone. Allow to dry (will be very quick) and repeat until you begin to see a slight sheen appear on the bone. You may even notice the solution start to wet the area opposite of application. If that is the case, you have completely penetrated the interior structure of the bone. Allow the specimen to dry overnight. Next, apply the solution with a brush to the exterior surface of the bone making sure to evenly apply and not leave thick pools of solution. This will produce an even looking light sheen on the bone. Pay special attention to cracks adding more solution here. Once you start to see the solution is not absorbing as fast, allow the specimen to dry overnight again.

 

At this point, your preservation is complete. If the shiny appearance of the bone is undesirable, you can wipe the surface bone with a cloth dampened with acetone. This will remove some of the plastic on the surface without compromising the consolidation of the bone.

[Shomi]

7 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Very nice specimen. Here's what I would do...

 

The matrix looks to be mostly soft so I would take a brush and apply a small amount of acetone to an area and use a dental pick to remove the sediment. You can also use a cloth dampened in acetone to wipe away residue. DO NOT use water. sub-fossil bone is hydrophilic and will quickly absorb water and become even more brittle. Once you have the specimen clean, procure some Paraloid, Butvar, or Vinac (McGean B-15).

 

Dissolve the plastic in acetone using a ratio of 50 parts acetone to 1 part plastic by volume. slowly pour, drop, or brush this onto any exposed cancellous bone. Allow to dry (will be very quick) and repeat until you begin to see a slight sheen appear on the bone. You may even notice the solution start to wet the area opposite of application. If that is the case, you have completely penetrated the interior structure of the bone. Allow the specimen to dry overnight. Next, apply the solution with a brush to the exterior surface of the bone making sure to evenly apply and not leave thick pools of solution. This will produce an even looking light sheen on the bone. Pay special attention to cracks adding more solution here. Once you start to see the solution is not absorbing as fast, allow the specimen to dry overnight again.

 

At this point, your preservation is complete. If the shiny appearance of the bone is undesirable, you can wipe the surface bone with a cloth dampened with acetone. This will remove some of the plastic on the surface without compromising the consolidation of the bone.

Thank you for you suggestion. Where could i get Paraloid, Butvar or Vinac? And in what quantities do i need them for this fossil? And should i do anything about the big crack (hole) in the bottom?

[Ptychodus04]

@Shomi I think in Europe, Paraloid is most easily accessible. I'm sure @JohnBrewer or @Ludwigia have some insight on that front.

 

I would mix up a thicker solution (10:1 or maybe even thicker) and pour it into the hole and crack in small amounts. The intent here is for the solution to fill the gap and adhere the pieces together. This will be a rather slow process as you want it to ooze into the cracks rather than be absorbed into the bone. Do this after the initial consolidation process.

 

This adhesive mix will take much longer to dry than the thin consolidation mix. It's a bit counter-intuitive but the solution with the least solvent takes the longest for the solvent to evaporate.

[Shomi]

10 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

@Shomi I think in Europe, Paraloid is most easily accessible. I'm sure @JohnBrewer or @Ludwigia have some insight on that front.

 

I would mix up a thicker solution (10:1 or maybe even thicker) and pour it into the hole and crack in small amounts. The intent here is for the solution to fill the gap and adhere the pieces together. This will be a rather slow process as you want it to ooze into the cracks rather than be absorbed into the bone. Do this after the initial consolidation process.

 

This adhesive mix will take much longer to dry than the thin consolidation mix. It's a bit counter-intuitive but the solution with the least solvent takes the longest for the solvent to evaporate.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

I will try to aquire those chemicals and try to properly preserve it. 

 

P.S. I`ll send you pictures of the finished piece

[Ptychodus04]

Good luck. It's a pretty straight forward process. 

[Shomi]

Thank you

[Harry Pristis]

I have to disagree with Ptychodus04 in his approach to the consolidation of this jaw.  I do not think this needs to be done in separate stages.  A single soak with the consolidant should be sufficient for effective treatment.  Flooding the jaw through every opening using a turkey baster will achieve the desired penetration.  (The consolidant should not be so thick that it "oozes"; rather, the consolidant should flow like water.)

 

The big advantage of this approach is that it cuts down on the exposure to acetone fumes, something Shomi will appreciate afterward.  Here's what I posted on my TFF profile:

I usually heat specimens with an infra-red lamp to drive off moisture just before dipping the fossil. I do this with all sorts of fossils, and have never had one damaged by the heating. The untreated specimen is always at least as wet at the relative humidity of the air around it, I surmise. (A microwave oven may be as effective, but I've only dried glass beads for my air-abrasive unit.) Residual moisture may cause a white film to develop on the surface of a fossil after dipping in the consolidant.

 

Here's how the white film forms: As the acetone in the consolidant evaporates, the temperature at the surface of the specimen chills abruptly, lowering the dew-point at which ambient water vapor condenses.

 

And, that's my theory -- that the white film has two potential sources: residual interstitial moisture and ambient humidity condensing at the surface chilled by evaporation.

   Think about a plastic bag of food placed into a freezer, where frost is moisture and bag is the film of consolidant. Frost can form on either or both sizes of the plastic bag, inside frost from moisture in the food and outside frost from atmospheric moisture.

   My solution is heating the specimen to drive off residual moisture, and consolidating while it is warm to increase the dew-point at the specimen's surface, inhibiting condensation as the acetone boils off.

Do NOT heat the acetone solution directly. The acetone solution will get warm after dipping a number of heated fossils. You must have good ventilation to deal with the fumes!

I use a long-jawed forceps -- ten-inch tweezers, really -- to dip and/or retreive the fossils from the jar.

Ideally, you would submerge the dry specimen in this consolidant for a brief time (say 10-30 seconds, or until the specimen stops fizzing). Set each wet specimen aside to dry on cardboard (I use a beer-flat because that cardboard is absorbant and doesn't readily stick to the fossil).

To avoid pooling of consolidant which may drain from a bone, I rotate the bone once or twice in the first minute or two after placing it on the cardboard. This helps avoid a "drip-bead" of consolidant near the lowest point of the bone.

For a specimen too thick to be submerged, you can use a turkey-baster to flood the difficult areas. I treated an adult mammoth tibia that, because of its size, I dried in the Florida sun, then used the baster to pump consolidant into every opening of the bone.

I use a RubberMaid-type container to hold the consolidant for this basting step - that plastic seems to be impervious to the acetone. Get 'em at your local dollar-store.

Acetone evaporates very quickly. Replenish the consolidant mixture with a bit of acetone if you are using it on many specimens. Store it in a tightly sealed glass jar. Even if some acetone evaporates away between uses (it always does, it seems), you can reconstitute the solution by replacing the acetone.

Acetone is a nasty solvent. The fumes are explosive. The fumes are toxic. The liquid penetrates the skin-blood barrier. It's best to use gloves. Use in a well-ventilated area.
--------------Harry Pristis

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Good suggestions above.  Lots of ways to accomplish consolidation with the same solution.  Since I'm sort of a cheapskate, well, maybe a notorious one, I tend to put big, dry, clean bone specimens in a big plastic bag, pour in the solution, then draw the air out to achieve full wetting with minimum solution volume.  

[Doctor Mud]

2 hours ago, Harry Pristis said:

I have to disagree with Ptychodus04 in his approach to the consolidation of this jaw.  I do not think this needs to be done in separate stages.  A single soak with the consolidant should be sufficient for effective treatment.  Flooding the jaw through every opening using a turkey baster will achieve the desired penetration.  (The consolidant should not be so thick that it "oozes"; rather, the consolidant should flow like water.)

 

The big advantage of this approach is that it cuts down on the exposure to acetone fumes, something Shomi will appreciate afterward.  Here's what I posted on my TFF profile:

I usually heat specimens with an infra-red lamp to drive off moisture just before dipping the fossil. I do this with all sorts of fossils, and have never had one damaged by the heating. The untreated specimen is always at least as wet at the relative humidity of the air around it, I surmise. (A microwave oven may be as effective, but I've only dried glass beads for my air-abrasive unit.) Residual moisture may cause a white film to develop on the surface of a fossil after dipping in the consolidant.

 

Here's how the white film forms: As the acetone in the consolidant evaporates, the temperature at the surface of the specimen chills abruptly, lowering the dew-point at which ambient water vapor condenses.

 

And, that's my theory -- that the white film has two potential sources: residual interstitial moisture and ambient humidity condensing at the surface chilled by evaporation.

   Think about a plastic bag of food placed into a freezer, where frost is moisture and bag is the film of consolidant. Frost can form on either or both sizes of the plastic bag, inside frost from moisture in the food and outside frost from atmospheric moisture.

   My solution is heating the specimen to drive off residual moisture, and consolidating while it is warm to increase the dew-point at the specimen's surface, inhibiting condensation as the acetone boils off.

Do NOT heat the acetone solution directly. The acetone solution will get warm after dipping a number of heated fossils. You must have good ventilation to deal with the fumes!

I use a long-jawed forceps -- ten-inch tweezers, really -- to dip and/or retreive the fossils from the jar.

Ideally, you would submerge the dry specimen in this consolidant for a brief time (say 10-30 seconds, or until the specimen stops fizzing). Set each wet specimen aside to dry on cardboard (I use a beer-flat because that cardboard is absorbant and doesn't readily stick to the fossil).

To avoid pooling of consolidant which may drain from a bone, I rotate the bone once or twice in the first minute or two after placing it on the cardboard. This helps avoid a "drip-bead" of consolidant near the lowest point of the bone.

For a specimen too thick to be submerged, you can use a turkey-baster to flood the difficult areas. I treated an adult mammoth tibia that, because of its size, I dried in the Florida sun, then used the baster to pump consolidant into every opening of the bone.

I use a RubberMaid-type container to hold the consolidant for this basting step - that plastic seems to be impervious to the acetone. Get 'em at your local dollar-store.

Acetone evaporates very quickly. Replenish the consolidant mixture with a bit of acetone if you are using it on many specimens. Store it in a tightly sealed glass jar. Even if some acetone evaporates away between uses (it always does, it seems), you can reconstitute the solution by replacing the acetone.

Acetone is a nasty solvent. The fumes are explosive. The fumes are toxic. The liquid penetrates the skin-blood barrier. It's best to use gloves. Use in a well-ventilated area.
--------------Harry Pristis

@Ptychodus04 was saying to use the Butvar etc. as a consolidant (watery consistency as you suggest) and a filler (viscous) to deal with the hole. That's why he suggested the stages.

I haven't done it myself but I,ve heard of people using it in this way. I've used putty as a filler but I imagine the Butvar approach would be good when you have a complicated space to fill with a brittle exterior.

10 hours ago, Shomi said:

Hi guys, can someone please help me by telling me how to clean and preserve a mammoth tooth. My dad got this mammoth tooth from an archeologist about 20 years ago. In that time it was never cleaned and it is really dry and a bit crumbly. I would like to clean it and preserve it, it would be a shame to watch it turn to dust.

Amazing specimen!

Any idea where it comes from?

[Ptychodus04]

@Harry Pristis I agree that soaking is the most expedient process for consolidation. The problem that you have for someone who isn't into prepping fossils all the time is the amount of acetone required to mix enough solution to submerge the specimen. This leaves a large volume of solution behind. If you don't mix enough to submerge the specimen completely and use a turkey baster to apply you are in essence using the method I suggested above.

 

@Doctor Mud I wasn't so much suggesting the higher viscosity solution as a filler as much as an adhesive that will stick the pieces together, leaving the hole and the crack visible but stable. 

 

 

[Doctor Mud]

1 minute ago, Ptychodus04 said:

@Harry Pristis I agree that soaking is the most expedient process for consolidation. The problem that you have for someone who isn't into prepping fossils all the time is the amount of acetone required to mix enough solution to submerge the specimen. This leaves a large volume of solution behind. If you don't mix enough to submerge the specimen completely and use a turkey baster to apply you are in essence using the method I suggested above.

 

@Doctor Mud I wasn't so much suggesting the higher viscosity solution as a filler as much as an adhesive that will stick the pieces together, leaving the hole and the crack visible but stable. 

 

 

@Ptychodus04 Gotcha 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

Looking forward to seeing this beautiful piece after it has had some TLC 

[Shomi]

So to conclude what should i exatly do? 

Multiple coatings or should i soak it in palaloid acetone mixture? (I said paraloid because its more likely that i can get my hands on it than butvar)

[Shomi]

By the way this fossile was dug up about 20 some years ago near Belgrade next to a neolitical settlement called "Lepenski vir" on the shore of river Great Morava.

[Ptychodus04]

I use the pouring and coating method because it requires much less mixture. It is my preferred method of consolidation after 20 years of prepping fossils with significant experimentation on consolidation materials and techniques.

 

Wear gloves and do it outside or in a room open to the outside. No fume build up this way.

[Harry Pristis]

I certainly don't know everything, but I have been consolidating fossils for more than forty years.  I've made most of the mistakes already.  Here's what I would do:

 

Remove the dust from the specimen.

 

Place the jaw in a hammock of plastic sheeting (test for acetone resistance) in the top of a shallow but stout cardboard box.  The hammock retains the consolidant; the jaw should rest on the bottom of the shallow box.   Substitute an acetone-resistant plastic tray (like a window sill planter) if sheeting is not available.

 

Pour the consolidant solution over the jaw (no more than a liter should be needed).

Use the turkey baster to cycle the runoff consolidant into and onto the jaw . . . again and again.

 

When it seems that the jaw has absorbed as much consolidant as it can, remove the jaw carefully and lay it on a beer flat (or two beer flats if the jaw is longer than one flat -- American beer flats are about 40 x 28 cm).

 

There may be some drainage from the jaw.  I would turn the jaw onto its other side after a minute or two to prevent a "drip bead."  Turn it a second time if the consolidant is still draining.  Drainage will be absorbed by the cardboard.  The jaw will not stick to the cardboard.  Drainage will cease quickly because the acetone is so volatile.

 

"A room open to the outside" is not enough!  Make sure you have positive ventilation -- a box fan or a floor fan, perhaps.  I like a box fan blowing fresh air at head height and an industrial evacuator running downstream.  When I neglect to run both fans, I am always sorry later.  If you can set up a table to do this outdoors, do so!

 

Good luck!  Do let us know your approach to the challenge.

[JohnBrewer]

@Shomi I've sent you a pm. I can send already mixed or acetone/Paraloid for you to mix

[Ludwigia]

Shomi already sent me a PM yesterday and I advised him as to where to order some Paraloid. Haven't heard back from him yet, though.

Edit: He answered later and I've made a few more suggestions.

Edited July 9, 2017 by Ludwigia