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How to prep Kem Kem fossils?


gigantoraptor

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Hello all

 

At a fossil fair last sunday, I obtained a lot of Kem Kem fossils. Some look very interesting (skull parts, turtle carapace...) but I can't ID them very well since they are still covered in matrix. Now this matrix actually exists out of cristals that resemble aragonite. I have no idea how to prep these without damaging the specimens. I have about 10 specimens I want to get cleaned up, but unless this is very easy, I don't dare this. Any place where I can get these fossils prepped?

 

Greetings

Thijs

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If you don't mind shipping them to the US, send me a PM and we can talk.

 

On the self prep line of thought, what is your level of prepping experience? What tools do you have? Can you post a few photos. Some Kem Kem fossils prep relatively easily with hand tools and a lot of patience. Some photos would really help to know the best way to advise you.

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As @Ptychodus04  can confirm after his recent plesiosaur vert prep; the nature on Moroccan matrix can vary widely in terms of its difficulty to work. As suggested, photos of some of your items might lend a clue as to the best approach for your pieces. Here is a link to my Forum post detailing a major prep that was accomplished with simple tools. The matrix shown, which is typical of much of the Moroccan material, was granular and and fairly easy to remove. Good luck, have fun.

 

 

 

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@JohnBrewerThanks for the suggestion, he might indeed know how to do this.

@snolly50 Very cool piece, I can't remember I saw this before. These pieces are in fact from the same seller. The matrix is different though. 

@Ptychodus04 Thanks, but I think the shipping cost would be more than the value of the fossils itself. I myself have only prepped a bivalve so far.

 

It includes following pieces:

 

- Fish skull partial

54433351_1205664112923218_313706124991791104_n.thumb.jpg.c9468a9f5e8390b50f25f5317ac53d23.jpg54255054_814874975577862_8858659765018951680_n.thumb.jpg.be110af81ac57af40885004cf617649c.jpg

 

Croc jaw: Already quite nice, but could be very beautifel I think if all the remaining matrix is removed.

54434899_417735965465968_6856950652824715264_n.jpg.1cfb0224688bf751971fac3d56c68d68.jpg

 

Skull part, likely croc. Second picture shows how much matrix is left behind in the piece.

54514728_1060944764089162_89875360354664448_n.thumb.jpg.a6eab0046355f7241817324b3477cccc.jpg54520769_323305555205263_1191824364891275264_n.thumb.jpg.cce79183674b523beb2f8fb2abd2aca3.jpg

 

Next: no idea, but looks interesting

54432656_353802065237005_2012267675111129088_n.thumb.jpg.5db722f13c1e9b8a8bd470359418662f.jpg

 

Last: I think this might be a flattened piece of coprolite. It's very fragile and completely covered in cristals.

54523575_248368965962209_9129906491862548480_n.thumb.jpg.e167667c0fbf797b34514f3de30abadd.jpg

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Ok first thing would be to consolidate anything that feels fragile but these look to be easy pieces to prep soft brush and a pin vice should work wonders the only one to me that looks like it will cause problems is the possible coprolite but doesn't really look like one to me whatever it is it comes from the bottom of what looks to be aoufous formation but this section is conglomerate and feels and acts as hard as concrete but the other pieces you should have no problem with. If you still feel uncertain or worried I'm sure you could set-up like a whatsapp video call and I can talk you through it if that helps.

 

Thanks Matt

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On 3/19/2019 at 9:51 PM, gigantoraptor said:

@JohnBrewerThanks for the suggestion, he might indeed know how to do this.

@snolly50 Very cool piece, I can't remember I saw this before. These pieces are in fact from the same seller. The matrix is different though. 

@Ptychodus04 Thanks, but I think the shipping cost would be more than the value of the fossils itself. I myself have only prepped a bivalve so far.

 

It includes following pieces:

 

- Fish skull partial

54433351_1205664112923218_313706124991791104_n.thumb.jpg.c9468a9f5e8390b50f25f5317ac53d23.jpg54255054_814874975577862_8858659765018951680_n.thumb.jpg.be110af81ac57af40885004cf617649c.jpg

 

Skull part, likely croc. Second picture shows how much matrix is left behind in the piece.

54514728_1060944764089162_89875360354664448_n.thumb.jpg.a6eab0046355f7241817324b3477cccc.jpg54520769_323305555205263_1191824364891275264_n.thumb.jpg.cce79183674b523beb2f8fb2abd2aca3.jpg

That partial fish braincase looks like it might be Concavotectum. There are some very thin bone walls on there, so it can be a challenge to prep.

 

The triangular skull part, I agree, looks like croc.

 

Kem Kem stuff like this generally preps well with just dental picks unless there are really tough iron concretions on there as well. Be careful not to glue on the remaining matrix though, because then it will be very hard to remove. The type of loose pebbles and sand that's common in Kem Kem matrix has a lot of air space for glue to seep in, and will become VERY hard when glued. The typical grey/purple clay is less of a problem this way. But it doesn't look like your pieces here have clay on them.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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4 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

Kem Kem stuff like this generally preps well with just dental picks unless there are really tough iron concretions on there as well. Be careful not to glue on the remaining matrix though, because then it will be very hard to remove. The type of loose pebbles and sand that's common in Kem Kem matrix has a lot of air space for glue to seep in, and will become VERY hard when glued. The typical grey/purple clay is less of a problem this way. But it doesn't look like your pieces here have clay on them.

Thanks for the advise. They glued it back in Morocco and indeed I really can't prep some places on the fossils. Do you know a way to dissolve the glue?

Can water be used to clean Kem Kem fossils? I'm not planning on soaking them, but I would like the use a pencil to remove the last pieces of mud-like residu.

Thanks a lot.

 

 

On 19-3-2019 at 10:20 PM, Haravex said:

Ok first thing would be to consolidate anything that feels fragile but these look to be easy pieces to prep soft brush and a pin vice should work wonders the only one to me that looks like it will cause problems is the possible coprolite but doesn't really look like one to me whatever it is it comes from the bottom of what looks to be aoufous formation but this section is conglomerate and feels and acts as hard as concrete but the other pieces you should have no problem with. If you still feel uncertain or worried I'm sure you could set-up like a whatsapp video call and I can talk you through it if that helps.

 

Thanks Matt

Thanks Matt

 

This really helped, I've prepped a couple of specimens now and it goes quite well. It takes a whole lot of time but they come out quite nicely. I'm gonna wait with both the fish skull and the possible coprolite (indeed doesn't look like one, I tough a part was coprolite but now looks more like clay to me). 

Thanks a lot for all the advice.

 

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44 minutes ago, gigantoraptor said:

Thanks for the advise. They glued it back in Morocco and indeed I really can't prep some places on the fossils. Do you know a way to dissolve the glue?

Can water be used to clean Kem Kem fossils? I'm not planning on soaking them, but I would like the use a pencil to remove the last pieces of mud-like residu.

Thanks a lot.

I have used very small amounts of water when puttying certain parts of Kem Kem fossils. This did not seem to damage the specimens.

 

You could try acetone on some glues.

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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Do not ever put water on specimens from the kem kem beds some pieces can be ok but you can't tell without testing and then in the worse case they will literally fall apart in your hand. I correct myself technically the akroubou formation is part of the kem kem beds but nobody really makes the mental association because sellers always list them as coming from goulmima but the ammonites and fish from nodules are fine around water but any dinosaur material from aoufous or ifezouane formation is way too risky.

As for removing glue there are two options acetone which doesn't damage the fossils unless you soak them in it and they are held together with glue the other alternative and much better is nitromorse it's like a thick paint remover put it on the sandy glued up area allow it to stay for a couple of minutes then take a pin vice bought or homemade and a sharp scalpel blade and pry cut the glue mess they smother the fossils in.

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27 minutes ago, Haravex said:

Do not ever put water on specimens from the kem kem beds some pieces can be ok but you can't tell without testing and then in the worse case they will literally fall apart in your hand. I correct myself technically the akroubou formation is part of the kem kem beds but nobody really makes the mental association because sellers always list them as coming from goulmima but the ammonites and fish from nodules are fine around water but any dinosaur material from aoufous or ifezouane formation is way too risky.

As for removing glue there are two options acetone which doesn't damage the fossils unless you soak them in it and they are held together with glue the other alternative and much better is nitromorse it's like a thick paint remover put it on the sandy glued up area allow it to stay for a couple of minutes then take a pin vice bought or homemade and a sharp scalpel blade and pry cut the glue mess they smother the fossils in.

The example I mentioned was a medium sized dinosaur scapula. There were some gaps where it had been broken that I needed to fill in with putty. I only used some small amounts of water on my fingers to properly smooth out the putty. It didn't seem to do any damage, though it was a very small amount. On this particular piece water did help with the repair and wouldn't have been as pretty without.

I've also once soaked a smaller Kem Kem vertebra overnight in acetone to help dissolve glue. It didn't do much aside from adding one small crack in the bone.

 

But yeah, I bet some other fossils from the same area might be very sensitive to water. Ive also had varying results using water on Khouribga phosphate beds fossils like Mosasaur and fish. Some fossils and matrix had almost no change when water was applied and some others had the original matrix completely disintegrate and bone becoming very fragile.

Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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21 hours ago, Haravex said:

Do not ever put water on specimens from the kem kem beds...

 

20 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

The example I mentioned was a medium sized dinosaur scapula. There were some gaps where it had been broken that I needed to fill in with putty. I only used some small amounts of water on my fingers to properly smooth out the putty. It didn't seem to do any damage, though it was a very small amount.

I did find out the hard way water and Kem Kem fossils don't fit together. The croc skull part shows a massive break on the side where I applied a small amount of water to clean-up. I will try acetone for the glue part, if I'm able to get my hands on some.

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