LiamL Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I found a block packed full of bone afew week back, but also full of pyrite. I thought it was just full of fish bone, which is quite common and i often leave it but luckily shoved it in my bag. Yesterday I picked it up and decided to have a dig around in it and was pleasantly surprised to find some ichthyosaur verts! So i suspect it's a mix of fish and Marine reptile, or just all ichthyosaur (Hopefully) Does anybody have any tips for prepping bone in pyrite. I'm probably just going to have a dig around and see what i can uncover, smooth it down with the dremel and add some coating to the bone to bring it out. It's Good practice for me but it's wearing my pen tip down haha. Hopefully there will be more verts to find! There's certainly more space to uncover more. Vert cross section on the bottom Ribs? on the bottom 5 Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Another nice find! Always good when you go through old stuff and find a pleasant surprise. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Yeah, always nice to pick up a rock that you didnt have high hopes for and SURPRIZE!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 @LiamL yet another cool icthyosaur find. 1 On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Very nice specimen Let's hope that there's more ichty material in there! -Christian 1 Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 5 minutes ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said: Very nice specimen Let's hope that there's more ichty material in there! -Christian Thanks, it's quite tough work! 1 Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 4 minutes ago, LiamL said: Thanks, it's quite tough work! I'd imagine! Lucky old me with my clay! 1 On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 There's not much you can do with some pyrite. Many times the bone is unrecognizable below it or completely gone. In most cases, it may be best to prep and clean everything you can, then dry things very well and consolidate as best you can. Take plenty of photos and measurements...just in case the pyrite degrades everything over time. Grinding or otherwise attempting to remove the pyrite sometimes can cause other failures in the bone. 2 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 It is beautiful either way. Nice find! Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Pyrite is ridiculously difficult to get through. But you do have a Ken pen. Might be better prepped a little and get your buddy to polish the rest. John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamL Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 41 minutes ago, JohnBrewer said: Pyrite is ridiculously difficult to get through. But you do have a Ken pen. Might be better prepped a little and get your buddy to polish the rest. I'm curious to see what else is under, just hope i dont beat it up too bad. Depending how it looks when i'm finished i might just send it off in my next batch to Stone Treasures in afew months. Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 @LiamL, pyrite is a nightmare. The best you can hope for is that it hasn’t grown into the bone too badly. It is murder on your scribe stylus for sure but that’s basically the only way to get it off if you can. I agree with the sentiments above. Prep what you can and consolidate. I’ve used to following process with great results to stabilize even decaying pyrite. mix approximately 1cup Iron Out crystals with 1 gallon water. Soak specimen overnight. Scrub off specimen with liquid soap and a firm brush. Rinse well with water. Dry with paper towels. Bake in oven on lowest setting for a few hours to fully dry. Allow to fully cool. Then consolidate with very thin Paraloid (or Vinac or Butvar). I have treated pyrite thusly and stored it in closed boxes with no decay. 2 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...
LiamL Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 Done abit more today. 1 Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 Hey @LiamL, I do not in any way mean to sound like im beating you up, but it looks like you are hitting bone with your scribe. If I may, let me give you a tip. When it comes to 'sticky', and im sure with that pyrite its probably as sticky as it can be, I will go down as far as i dare and then use the side of the tip/stylus to 'wear' down until I get to color. it will still get beat up a bit but in an orderly way. Trying to clean up a sticky fossil with the tip of the scribe can really and truly make for a bad prep job. Just to show you what I mean, here is a crab I did a while back that was about 90% sticky and a real nightmare to prep but you can see all the ruff areas and how they all look like they got beat up the same way. If I had tried to prep this crab solely with the tip of my scribe there would be much much more damage to this crab. I do wish the best of luck. RB 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 1 hour ago, RJB said: When it comes to 'sticky', and im sure with that pyrite its probably as sticky as it can be, Things just don’t get much stickier than pyrite. It will actually grow into the bones. You wind up polishing it down to where the bone is and calling it quits if it’s too bad. 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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