Trilobite cleaning

[Savvas]

I am a newbe on this hobby and just got my first low grade trilobite, not something exceptional, my quastion would be is there any possibility with household items to clean it a little as it has some dirt and deposits on it? Can I put it on water? Thank you all in advance!

Edited May 6, 2019 by Savvas

[daves64]

Sewing needles with a pin vise work, as do dental tools. Some have even prepped fossils with a nail or screw. Something fairly hard with a small point & another with a small flat edge (for scraping slightly larger areas) would work.

[Savvas]

28 minutes ago, daves64 said:

Sewing needles with a pin vise work, as do dental tools. Some have even prepped fossils with a nail or screw. Something fairly hard with a small point & another with a small flat edge (for scraping slightly larger areas) would work.

Ok! Just washed it a bit with hot water and the whole thing came apart revealing that it was badly glued in half with woodglue (possibly different speciments) and then all the parts that were dirt were glued there so as the missing pieces will not be visible! I will get it tommorow back to the store, from now on I will buy only from good sellers on the internet!

[Jackson g]

A good way to test for resto is use a black light. You can also use an eye loup and look for differences in colour to be certain if there is any. It does take a trained eye though. I strongly recommend getting as much info from the seller before doing a purchase (clean photos, locality info, age of specimen, how it was prepped if possible, measurments, ect). Most times if a seller won't provide said info, i would pass on purchase. If uncertain, you can always ask here. 

 

1 hour ago, daves64 said:

Sewing needles with a pin vise work, as do dental tools. Some have even prepped fossils with a nail or screw. Something fairly hard with a small point & another with a small flat edge (for scraping slightly larger areas) would work.

This is also very good advice before jumping into buying air tools.

[sseth]

2 minutes ago, Jackson g said:

A good way to test for resto is use a black light. You can also use an eye loup and look for differences in colour to be certain if there is any. It does take a trained eye though. I strongly recommend getting as much info from the seller before doing a purchase (clean photos, locality info, age of specimen, how it was prepped if possible, measurments, ect). Most times if a seller won't provide said info, i would pass on purchase. If uncertain, you can always ask here. 

 

This is also very good advice before jumping into buying air tools.

This is great advice.  I would recommend the same thing. 

 

Seth

[Mediospirifer]

4 hours ago, Savvas said:

Ok! Just washed it a bit with hot water and the whole thing came apart revealing that it was badly glued in half with woodglue (possibly different speciments) and then all the parts that were dirt were glued there so as the missing pieces will not be visible! I will get it tommorow back to the store, from now on I will buy only from good sellers on the internet!

 

Ouch!

 

Good luck--I hope they give you a refund, preferably without arguing!

 

I was going to recommend using a dry, soft toothbrush to gently remove dirt or debris. While most trilobites can withstand a wet cleaning, some rocks are soft and fragile, and I won't trust them to hold together unless I know where they're from. For that matter, I've had a number of specimens I've collected come apart in the wash (usually cracked hash plates, I'm careful with the more impressive pieces).

 

If you want to try washing a fossil (or any chemical treatment), test a corner of the matrix with water first to see how solid it is.

 

Welcome to the Forum!