Recommendations For Coating Dinosaur Tracks

[Kurufossils]

I have started recently being able to hunt dinosaur footprints and while I don't want to cover the ones that are naturally visible I may want some of the lower quality or hard to see tracks to stand out. Anyone prepare tracks themselves or know of a good clear coating? I've heard of rustoleum but I am unsure if it's paint or spray I should be using.

[snolly50]

Given your location, I assume you mean Passaic Formation tracks. In my experience these do not require any "protective" coating. For highlighting, watercolor paint is often used, as it is removable. "Rustoleum?" I don't think so.

[Kurufossils]

42 minutes ago, snolly50 said:

Given your location, I assume you mean Passaic Formation tracks. In my experience these do not require any "protective" coating. For highlighting, watercolor paint is often used, as it is removable. "Rustoleum?" I don't think so.

Oh I didn't mean for protective purposes, for mainly just display purposes. I see, I know someone who uses clear rustoleum on most of his tracks and they come out pretty nice, I tried an acrylic clear coat spray on one of them and it came out ok but I feel like the sprays are difficult to work with as I feel it would bleed off the edges easier and trickier to control (as well as likely difficult to remove if needed).

[Ptychodus04]

5 hours ago, Ryann10006 said:

I have started recently being able to hunt dinosaur footprints and while I don't want to cover the ones that are naturally visible I may want some of the lower quality or hard to see tracks to stand out. Anyone prepare tracks themselves or know of a good clear coating? I've heard of rustoleum but I am unsure if it's paint or spray I should be using.

 

I would suggest Paraloid or Butvar dissolved in a 50:1 solution with acetone. This can be painted onto the tracks and will slightly darken them (as compared to the surrounding matrix) and will provide a slight sheen. You can apply one coat for minimal effect or several for a greater effect. It has the benefit of being indefinitely stable and reversible.

 

Clear coat finishes are not readily reversible and are not stable over many decades.

[Kurufossils]

@Ptychodus04 Thank you for the suggestion, will have to give it a try when I can!