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When you got the prep bug


Haravex

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@Haravex just magnificent. I am very jealous of your skills and those trilobites. Ahh, if only I prepped like that! All I have to do is use a toothbrush and toothpick to clean off Ecphora.

On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus!

 

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  • 1 month later...

So working on a vertebrae from the jurassic of Morocco possibly stegosauird so keeping a close eye on the level of detail. In at about 7 hours so far.

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Had a little more time today so decided to see how well the air abrasion worked on this vert and very well is the answer.

 

The attached vertebrae image from a journal document is of a stegosaurus I feel there are some significant similarities.

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In to 8 hours now, and as much as can be done with just bicarb alone so will need to make a 50 50 mix dolomite bicarb up also with the large jurassic vert any suggestions what to use for crack fill? @Ptychodus04

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25 minutes ago, Haravex said:

In to 8 hours now, and as much as can be done with just bicarb alone so will need to make a 50 50 mix dolomite bicarb up also with the large jurassic vert any suggestions what to use for crack fill? @Ptychodus04

 

Matt, this is looking really good. Great progress. I like Apoxie Sculpt for crack filling. It can be bought in a variety of colors and it also accepts powdered cement dyes well for a very customizable palette. I typically use black, white, and dark brown to make a filler that is close enough to the bone color to look good but different enough to be seen. It is easy to use and works/tools just like natural clay.

 

I mix part A until I get the color I want, then add an equal amount of part B to begin the chemical reaction. Working time is effectively 2 hours at normal room temps (less if warm and more if rather cold).

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  • 1 month later...

Small update sorry I'm bad at doing these for anyone wondering how hard this is to prep think goulmima reptile vertbrae but harder the constant fight against stabilizing bone and getting the matrix to come away clean is a nightmare not to mention the calcite vein's.

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Another small update the processes are starting to take shape also spent 30 minutes on this little ammonite I dug from akoubou formation 

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Ok so need some advice after a mild panic attack and some rather blue words this morning posting here this happened while I was prepping it would seem this vertbrae also has half a tree growing in it what would be the next course of action I have some ideas but would be great to get the professionals thoughts and suggestions. Thanks Matt

@Ptychodus04

@RJB

 

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Matt, I would scribe off the roots that grew through it and then glue it back together. Typically, toots will push through a crack and widen it and allow matrix to fill in but leave the two halves mostly intact. Scribe all that off and see how well the two pieces fit together. You may need a high viscosity glue or an epoxy putty to make it fit if the damage is bad enough.

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On 15/03/2019 at 1:32 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

Matt, I would scribe off the roots that grew through it and then glue it back together. Typically, toots will push through a crack and widen it and allow matrix to fill in but leave the two halves mostly intact. Scribe all that off and see how well the two pieces fit together. You may need a high viscosity glue or an epoxy putty to make it fit if the damage is bad enough.

Ok I've done the first part a sharp scalpel blade did the job well enough the pieces obviously now fit back together better than before but I've taken this chance before gluing them back together to prep the very top here is the progress yes I know it's slow but want this to be as good as possible.

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Lighting is bad in this picture so it doesn't look like I've done much but over half the matrix from the top of the processes has been removed. Calcite cracks and gypsum are a nightmare.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Carrying on from one gypsum nightmare this sauropod chevron was literally completely covered in gypsum and has been some hard work but just at the end of prepping sadly the surface of the bone has suffered some erosion prior to fossilization.

 

Forgot to mention it is almost finished not totally yet but around 80 to 85 percent done

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Looking Good Matt. Gypsum is a real nightmare to prep. It tends to grow into the bone since it is a precipitate. Nasty nasty stuff. I don't envy the time you've spent with it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Had to take some fresh pictures of the now confirmed stegosaur vertebrae so here is the progress coming towards the end of scribe work and then on to air abrasion (hopefully )

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