How are fossil "preparations" done?

[SimpleCollector100]

I found that a sabertooth skull could be in "unprepared" form in some "matrix" rock? This  seems to make it less valuable/cheaper. When it's pure bone, is this a pretty tedious process to clean up? Any videos that would be good to research?

 

Thank you

Edited July 8, 2019 by SimpleCollector100

[Randyw]

A proper preparation is a frustrating, dirty, tiring job thatcan easily damage the fossil if not done correctly. You also need the correct tools for prepping the fossil. I’d practice on less valuable specimens before tackling a saber tooth skull both for experience and to see if you even like doing it. Also with unprepared specimens you never know how it’s going to turn out. There could be only a partial or damaged skull in the rock. But some of us crazy people love it anyway! LOL!

[Randyw]

Setups can run from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars, I personally use steel picks, dental tools, electric engravers, dremel tools, and brushes for my prepping. Eye protection and masks/respirators are a must! Proper preps can T.A. days, weeks to months to do. Here are the tools I use

[Mark Kmiecik]

Just Google "fossil prep" and click on videos. There's lots of them. It's a lot of work to do a good job and takes a lot of experience and patience. I have prepped some small (6-inch) Diplomystus fish fossil from the Green River formation by hand that have taken over 40 hours each. It's faster with power tools but presents a better chance to screw things up if you're not experienced with the matrix that the fossil is in. You have to get to "know the rock" before you can prep with confidence of achieving decent results. Bones can be some of the hardest type of fossil to work with. Most of the large specimens you see at museums took thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars to look the way they do.

[FossilNerd]

43 minutes ago, Randyw said:

Setups can run from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars, I personally use steel picks, dental tools, electric engravers, dremel tools, and brushes for my prepping. Eye protection and masks/respirators are a must! Proper preps can T.A. days, weeks to months to do. Here are the tools I use

This is the best tool in your arsenal...

Reese’s Hearts! Yum!

[FossilNerd]

55 minutes ago, Randyw said:

A proper preparation is a frustrating, dirty, tiring job thatcan easily damage the fossil if not done correctly. You also need the correct tools for prepping the fossil. I’d practice on less valuable specimens before tackling a saber tooth skull both for experience and to see if you even like doing it. Also with unprepared specimens you never know how it’s going to turn out. There could be only a partial or damaged skull in the rock. But some of us crazy people love it anyway! LOL!

On a serious note... I agree with Randyw. It’s a long, hard, tedious process that if done right, can make a specimen look great, but it can also turn a prized specimen into a paper weight.  

My recommendation would be to check out the preparation side of this forum.  There are many threads about getting into prepping fossils (tools techniques, etc) and many members who focus on prepping that are glad to knowledge share. I also recommend starting on something that you don’t mind messing up. 

[Randyw]

6 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

On a serious note... I agree with Randyw. It’s a long, hard, tedious process that if done right, can make a specimen look great, but it can also turn a prized specimen into a paper weight. I also recommend starting on something that you don’t mind messing up. 

+1 I’m currently working on prepping an Oreodont skull that was given to me becuase the person who started prepping it didn’t know what he was doing and broke it into 5 pieces I’ve glued it back together and am prepping it but there is a lot of damage and missing pieces to what otherwise would have been a very nice skull. (I still love it even with its damage though)

[SimpleCollector100]

Good to know. I won't be buying any expensive stuff that is unprepared

 

It is also the reason I have stayed away from carving bone, I am told bone dust can really be bad for your lungs :/

[Randyw]

Bone dust is nothing compared to rock dust LOL! You absolutely need to keep it out of your lungs. We aren’t saying don’t prep we are just saying start out slow so you learn the pitfalls before diving into the deep end. Like everything else you need to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, etc. Prepping a piece can also be extremely rewarding. Some of the fossils I’m most proud of are ones I’ve prepped myself. This is My prepping get up. It makes my wife laugh when she sees it! But yes check out the prepping section of the forum and videos online and on utube for a lot of helpful information and don’t hesitate to ask us for advice!

[caldigger]

Also just to add to this party, many fossils are so fragile and brittle they require the application of a consolidant to hold every thing together while removing unwanted matrix. 

There are many ways of preparing fossils and each method is dependant on what is being worked on, hardness of rock they are in, fragility of the subject matter and how much preparation is required.

Many of the fossils I personally find merely need a brief water soaking and a soft brush to remove the majority of attached matrix.

Other types of fossils would completely crumble to dust if gotten wet.

So in answer to your initial question...there is no one answer for your question. Methods and tools all are subjective to the individual fossil at hand.