Fossil preparation through chemical treatment using potassium hydroxide.

[Ptychodus04]

This is a great topic. I'm going to order some and Tim @Fossildude19 is going to provide me with some samples of the infamous Granton Quarry pieces to test. A small fish in the hard shale can easily require 12-20 hours of preparation under a microscope. If the KOH reacts positively with the matrix, actual preparator contact time could be significantly reduced.

 

Mad scientist time!

[Ptychodus04]

Thank you Amazon! You can ship just about anything to your house these days. 4 pounds of caustic base headed to my house now!!!

[JohnBrewer]

What a great article and what you have achieved is fab, you've made it look easy but I bet a lot of practice is needed to get results like yours.

 

I have a stack of KOH and NaOH in my lab. They'd be interchangeable for this use. 

 

A couple of things, you mean hygroscopic rather than 'hydroscopic' and a base doesn't mean it's so. Sulphuric acid for example is hygroscopic