Bone guy Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 So this mesosaurus skeleton has been on the favorite auction site for ages. It looks pretty rough, but after reading all the informative fossil preparation posts on this forum I'm beginning to think this skeleton could look nice with some prep work. The only areas of concern are the big sections of matrix that look filled in (shown outlined in the picture). This was likely done to replace missing sections of matrix. I remember reading a post where someone showed a fossil that had its matrix dyed a brighter color to increase contrast. You can see here with this skeleton the bones are nearly the same color as the matrix making the mesosaurus hard to see. Maybe I could dye the matrix a lighter color to make the Mesosaurus contrast a bit more? Also, what other preparation techniques could I employ to make this fossil look the part? I'm really considering trying this project, so any input anyone can provide would be extremely helpful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 I don't really have a ton of experience with the finer niceties of prepping and such (I normally do rough, light preps) so i can't really help out but I am really interested in this project and I think it would be cool to try. I will keep following it... May you post some photos if you do try? (whenever that may be) 1 On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 15, 2018 Author Share Posted August 15, 2018 24 minutes ago, FossilsAnonymous said: I don't really have a ton of experience with the finer niceties of prepping and such (I normally do rough, light preps) so i can't really help out but I am really interested in this project and I think it would be cool to try. I will keep following it... May you post some photos if you do try? (whenever that may be) Yes absolutely! It would likely be a very very very long time before I attempt this project, because I would have to obtain the specimen first and well it's not cheap. Better start saving . But I would love to share pictures of my progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 Just now, Bone guy said: Yes absolutely! It would likely be a very very very long time before I attempt this project, because I would have to obtain the specimen first and well it's not cheap. Better start saving . But I would love to share pictures of my progress. I think that would be great. Is it just me or have fossil prices risen, just a little? 1 On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 15, 2018 Author Share Posted August 15, 2018 11 minutes ago, FossilsAnonymous said: I think that would be great. Is it just me or have fossil prices risen, just a little? Believe it or not this mesosaurus is very inexpensive it's only a few hundred dollars. I figure if I could make this mesosaurus look nicer I would end up with a cool fossil for a great price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 15, 2018 Share Posted August 15, 2018 The picture isn’t detailed enough to make a judgement about best practices for preparation. I only work on mesosaurs under a microscope with the gentlest equipment because they tend to have a fine layer of matrix covering the bones that aren’t more fully exposed when the rock is split. Try a needle in a pin vise to see if you can remove any matrix. I would not attempt a paint of the matrix. A better bet is to apply a conservation grade product (McGean b15, Paraloid, Butvar) to the fully prepared bones. This will slightly darken them and provide the contrast you’re looking for. 4 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...
FossilsAnonymous Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 12 hours ago, Bone guy said: Believe it or not this mesosaurus is very inexpensive it's only a few hundred dollars. I figure if I could make this mesosaurus look nicer I would end up with a cool fossil for a great price. Really? Well, even better to attempt the project! If I had any sort of prep skills I'd try it myself. 1 On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AnThOnY- Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 15" long, man that thing is tiny. Do we have any idea on size range of newborn mosasaurs? I would imagine it to be significantly bigger than 15" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 18 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: The picture isn’t detailed enough to make a judgement about best practices for preparation. I only work on mesosaurs under a microscope with the gentlest equipment because they tend to have a fine layer of matrix covering the bones that aren’t more fully exposed when the rock is split. Try a needle in a pin vise to see if you can remove any matrix. I would not attempt a paint of the matrix. A better bet is to apply a conservation grade product (McGean b15, Paraloid, Butvar) to the fully prepared bones. This will slightly darken them and provide the contrast you’re looking for. Thankfully the seller has lots of pictures! I don't actually have the fossil in my hands. It would likely be a very long time before I do tackle a project like this and I may very well just have it professionally done. As you you can see from the pictures, it's pretty rough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 16, 2018 Author Share Posted August 16, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 It is rough but I see potential. This is definitely NOT a beginner prep project. 1 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...
Natalie81 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 It looks like a feasible prep. But paraloid and instant glue will not be a luxury. I wish you good luck and am curious about the result. Great specimen! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haravex Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 11 hours ago, -AnThOnY- said: 15" long, man that thing is tiny. Do we have any idea on size range of newborn mosasaurs? I would imagine it to be significantly bigger than 15" Mesosaur not mosasaur. Thanks Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 19 hours ago, Ptychodus04 said: It is rough but I see potential. This is definitely NOT a beginner prep project. Yeah so I would more than likely let a professional do it. I would hate to break the thing... Again if I was to pursue this piece it would likely be years down the road. I was just posting here to see how I would approach such a project. Thank you everyone for your comments and assistance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Bone guy said: Yeah so I would more than likely let a professional do it. I would hate to break the thing... Again if I was to pursue this piece it would likely be years down the road. I was just posting here to see how I would approach such a project. Thank you everyone for your comments and assistance If you wind up with this, I'd be honored to work on it for you. BTW, based on the pictures, I would say breaking this is first order on the prep. It needs to be reset properly where the back side of the filler is all a mess. You would be amazed at the number of times I've had to break a specimen in order to prep it properly. 1 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 August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 All those chisle marks are very painful to me. Hard to tell from the pictures, but im assuming that there is lots of bone material missing. Still, looks like a wonderful project. Also, if the rock was 'worked', after the prep of the specimen to get rid of all the tool marks, this would look very very nice! and I think Kris, @Ptychodus04 would be your best bet at prepping this. RB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AnThOnY- Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 11 hours ago, Haravex said: Mesosaur not mosasaur. Thanks Matt haha, makes more sense! I am so used to dealing with mosasaurs that I scanned right over it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon.rocks Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 There is a reason this costs less as 700$ and is sold as it is, considering you can add a zero and multiply with 2x for a good preserved one like in pic below. Looks destroyed and not promissing at all at first sight, if someone attempts to prep this further (prep further is not a correct choice of word probably, it was massacred so far, not preped) I'm very interested to see the result. A lot of bones seem missing - erroded or cut off or overblasted, looks like filler all over (bones, ribs, head)... As I see it you have 2 options, try to clean matrix around what is left of bones to bring them out a little (make em "pop out" and maybe restore some parts) or try reverse prep (break, check cross section and if possible, make a base on the top, turn around and prep from back side) hoping there might be some more bones left deeper in matrix better preserved that would look nicer if preped out, but that one is risky and questionable to judge if possible from pics only... The way this looks maybe it's best to just cut and polish. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 It definitely needs some TLC! 1 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...
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