JavierMS Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Greetings, I recently bought an Heteromorph Ammonite fossil from Morocco (my first moroccan ammonite) and I decided to clean it with a little bit of water the same way I did with previous fossils. Big mistake... since I was shocked to see how the red ammonite turned brown and some parts disappeared (those put together with some sort of brown putty) when I put the ammonite under the water... After speaking with some fossil collectors I found out that many Heteromorph Ammonites from Morocco are indeed broken and put together, and they are sometimes "created" using the parts of different ammonites... You can see the ammonite before (the red one) and after (the brown one) and what I would like to know now is how to restore it please. What is the brown putty they used to put all the pieces together and how do they obtain that red colour? Is it totally necessary to use the same procedure? I've been creating and painting clay sculptures for years and I wonder now if using some clay and acrylic paintings would work... Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Maybe I've not been paying attention, but I've never seen Moroccan Cretaceous ammonites that red colour before. That beige is what they should look like. They've somehow used a red dye and filler to disguise the repair and your soaking has removed both to see the joins and glue. Sorry. Clever way of disguising a composite. 3 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 5, 2018 Share Posted April 5, 2018 Here's one of mine, the only photo I've got right now, not a great example, but real enough minus a bit of fiddling in the centre. 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JavierMS Posted April 5, 2018 Author Share Posted April 5, 2018 Yes I never saw a red Heteromorph Ammonite before and I couldn't totally believe that it was 100% real... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 I use Apoxie Sculpt for my restorations. It is an epoxy clay. You have a few hours of working time once you mix the two parts. During that time, it can be tooled and worked exactly like natural clay (even smoothing with water). Once it sets, it is rock hard but can be sanded and painted. You can get it in several colors but a mix of white and brown would get you pretty close to the actual fossil color.. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 What @Ptychodus04 said, except that I use a white two part epoxy and color it with masonry powder to whatever color im going for. Good luck RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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