Advice on my green river fish

[Raptor9468]

I have recently bought a fossil fish prep kit,tried to do it and have done for 5 hours,however randomly a small piece falls off and Ive gone as slow as possible is there anything i could do to help?

[Raptor9468]

I dont want to damage the fish further and its really fragile,besides,what should i use to remove the dust that i scratched off?

[Raptor9468]

There is also this thing on the shale which i suspect to be a seed or plant

[Bobby Rico]

This thread is interesting 

and @RJB and @Ptychodus04 are the preparation Jedi masters.

[Raptor9468]

Thanks for letting me know,I am new to the forum and have little experience with fossils(This is my first)

[Bobby Rico]

19 minutes ago, Raptor9468 said:

Thanks for letting me know,I am new to the forum and have little experience with fossils(This is my first)

Welcome to the forum. We are a kind and knowing  bunch of people. 

Cheers Bobby

[Fossildude19]

2 hours ago, Raptor9468 said:

There is also this thing on the shale which i suspect to be a seed or plant

 

Welcome to the Forum.  

 

That is a fish scale.  

 You can use a photo lens air bulb cleaner to remove dust. 

Good luck, and keep us informed of your progress.

[Ptychodus04]

That is typical preservation for a Split Fish layer specimen. They are rather brittle. You want to order some Paraloid B72 online. Get the smallest quantity you can and dissolve in acetone at a ratio of 50 parts acetone to 1 part Paraloid by weight.

 

use a small paintbrush to apply a bit to the exposed fish and continue prepping. Apply Paraloid as you uncover more fish and you’ll do fine.

[RJB]

  What everyone else said but understand that you are going to lose some fish in tiny bits/parts.  No way around it really.  With the 'scratch and blow' method you are using there is also the 'stop and glue' method too.  Each and every time you see a bit/part come loose, apply a small amount of glue with a small art type brush and try not to glue the fish bit/part to the matrix.    This will enable you to keep as much as possible.  good luck

 

RB

[snolly50]

Kris has given excellent council regarding application of a consolidant.  Unfortunately, since your piece is indeed a "split fish" layer critter; some loss of fossil material is certain to occur. The thin carbon stain may adhere to the removed matrix and be lost or, it is hoped, "stick to the fish." I assume you are working with non-powered hand tools. I also assume you were instructed by the kit info to use a scratch and blow technique. This will certainly work, but also contributes to the abrading away of material you would prefer to retain. Try this to see, if your piece will respond. Instead of scratching away the matrix grain by grain, try "popping" away small sections. Use a fine needle in a pin vise or with a built-up tape grip. Hold the needle at about a 90 degree angle to the plate. At the margin of already exposed fossil, place the needle point about 1/16" or 1/32" away from the fossil onto the obscuring matrix. Press down gently and see if you can cause a fracture that separates a chunk of the matrix from the fossil below. Often the piece will show a natural tendency to separate at the proper place leaving beautiful, intact fossil material exposed. Protect your eyes (although with non-powered prep, flying chips are not much of a problem). Protect your lungs with a simple mask if you are throwing a lot of dust. Take a break. Repetitive fine motion can wreck your hand. Most of all relax and have fun. Good luck, your mileage may vary.

[Raptor9468]

The kit has also given me some pva,is that a good preserver?

[snolly50]

4 hours ago, Raptor9468 said:

The kit has also given me some pva,is that a good preserver?

I assume the pva you were provided is Vinac or its equivalent. If so it will be just fine for your fish. Search the Forum for "Vinac," if you wish to learn more. Follow Kris' ratio for B72 given above - 1 part PVA beads to 50 parts acetone, let dissolve completely. Adding the beads to the acetone a little at a time will aid the dissolving. The opposite, pouring acetone over a clump of beads greatly adds to the time required to dissolve. You will not need much for your fish. Store the solution in a tightly sealed glass jar. Oh, don't breathe a bunch of acetone. It's not good for you. Have fun.

[Ptychodus04]

if you’re mixing small batches of PVA, a quick reference is 1 teaspoon to 1 cup acetone. 

 

Dump the PVA into the acetone and give it a vigorous shaking. It will dissolve almost instantly.

 

This recipe works for PVA B15 (Vinac) and Butvar B76 but not Paraloid B72 as the pellet size of the Paraloid is significantly larger.

[gieserguy]

My advice with gluing as you go is to use something very small to apply it. This could be anything around the house, like a thin nail or a needle. You'll have to scrape it every once in a while because there will be some glue residue that will dry and keeping growing and growing as more is added.

This is good for repairing small breakages, like a bone slightly shattering, because it's very accurate.

[Raptor9468]

Ok thanks,would try it soon

[Raptor9468]

Ok so I did most of the body, I think I accidentally broke a couple bones on the upper part?

When I popped it off i didnt really see anything fly off that is brown so is it under the shale,missing or i just destoryed it?

[Raptor9468]

[Ptychodus04]

They are super brittle and come off easily. These small fish have such small bones, it’s basically impossible to prep without losing some.

[Raptor9468]

Ok thanks,will complete it and post the final result. 

[Mark Kmiecik]

2 hours ago, Raptor9468 said:

Ok thanks,will complete it and post the final result. 

Do the spine and head first. Work from the bigger thicker parts towards the thinner ends of the bones and fin rays. If you work from thin to thick you will lose a lot of the thin parts. The spine and head are the most robust parts and will give more time to develop your skill before you begin the fragile parts. On the head, be especially careful around the eye. It is very easy to "dig a hole" in that area.

[Raptor9468]

The head looks like this

Can anyone identify what it is?

[Raptor9468]

And here is the final result

[Ptychodus04]

Looks like a Knightia eocaena.

[Raptor9468]

Thanks for identifying and giving me such good advuce everyone

[Raptor9468]

So i looked at the head of the fish,why is it like that?

It looks like a head of a diplo and the body of a knightia,bad preservation?