How do I protect the nacre in this mollusc prep

[KimTexan]

I found these not too long ago in the North Sulphur River. I want to prep them out. They’re a tough prep, because I want to reveal and preserve the nacre. As I prep though I end up damaging the delicate layer.

Is there something I can coat it with to preserve the nacreous layer as I continue to work with it?

Some are Inoceramus clams. The long slender ones I have no idea what they are. My best guess is that they are some type of rudist. I don’t think they are cepholopods because I can’t see and sutures or septa. Some appear to be quite cylindrical. I’ve collected many baculites fossils from the area and these don’t remotely resemble baculites. If someone has an ID great, but my main question is in regards to preservation of nacre.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

[DPS Ammonite]

Coat the shells with consolidants such as Butvar B76.

 

You must have found a competent rock that contained the Inceramus nacre. All the nacre that I saw was in very wet and crumbly shale. BTW, the shale which is very resistant to water flowing thru it, prevented water from dissolving the nacre over the last several million years. Ironstone also preserves nacre well too. That is why you can find so much nacre in the shale and ironstone layers in the Weno and Pawpaw Formations and the Eagle Ford Group.

[KimTexan]

I have procrastinated buying something like Butvar for a long time. I think I will have to give in and buy some.

 

There are numerous places in the river where the shale is considerably tougher than other places. Just from my own personal experience there is a place in the river where Ozan, Wolfe City and Pecan Gap are all exposed closely together. I think it is the Wolfe City which produces large concretions of light gray (when dry) shale like material that is pretty tough. These are concretions of that nature. It has been a while since I’ve read the description so it could be the Pecan Gap, but it is more chalky and crumbles easily like the Ozan shale you mentioned. I do have a few Inoceramus clam molds that I managed to get out of the Ozan relatively in tact. This is one of them.

The shale is much darker than Wolfe City shale,

It has layers and comes apart. You can’t see the nacre, but the shell is thicker in this one. I have some larger ones, but they didn’t survive as well.

 

 

Would you happen to know what the long tube like mollusks are? Their nacre is considerably more colorful and iridescent than the Inoreceramus.  They seem to lack any descriptive qualities other than tubes. They have me very curious. I wonder if they could be the internal mold of the center of a Durania chamber.

 

I have found some light gray concretions in the Ozan further up stream, but they were singular cylinders of light gray material imbedded (in situ) vertically in the Ozan clay/shale.

[DPS Ammonite]

Do you have any intact tube clams for us to look at?

 

Consider going in with one or more persons (DPS) to get the Butvar. For Butvar B 76 and my favorite dispensing bottle see: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/85818-dispenser-bottle-for-consolidants/&tab=comments#comment-924589

 

[KimTexan]

So what is the difference between butvar b76 and b98. I see b98 on Amazon, but not b72. I looked for it under paraloid too.

[DPS Ammonite]

I do not know all the differences but Butvar B 76 can be dissolved in ethyl alcohol and acetone while B 98 only dissolves in alcohol. Butvar B 76 is what most paleontologists prefer. Search TFF. Buy it from Talas: https://www.talasonline.com/Butvar-Resin?quantity=1&weight=7&Form=24

 

A pound can be split amoungst several people.

[KimTexan]

Thank you for the info John.

[Ptychodus04]

You can also use McGean B15 (formerly known as Vinac also called PVA) available at bhigr.com or Paraloid B72 from the same site @DPS Ammonite mentioned.

 

 

[KimTexan]

On 8/20/2018 at 8:41 PM, Ptychodus04 said:

You can also use McGean B15 (formerly known as Vinac also called PVA) available at bhigr.com or Paraloid B72 from the same site @DPS Ammonite mentioned.

 

 

I went to the Black Hills site and could not find either under the names provided. Of course I’m looking on my phone. Maybe that is the issue, but I went to their catalog and looked under both the adhesive and epoxy catagories, but didn’t see it.

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, KimTexan said:

I went to the Black Hills site and could not find either under the names provided. Of course I’m looking on my phone. Maybe that is the issue, but I went to their catalog and looked under both the adhesive and epoxy catagories, but didn’t see it.

Well poo. I don’t see it either so they must be out. This happened once before and eventually it showed back up in their catalog.

[rfarrar]

Kim,

 

The McGean B-15 has been discontinued by the manufacturer. We have been using Vinnipas B-100, which is available, instead. It seems, so far, to be good substitute. It is in stock at Black Hills, if one emails or phones.

Bob