Ammonite Ammolite Disaster! How Should I Fix/ Clean This Specimen?

[Kurufossils]

Hello everyone, I recently received this large 14inch ammonite  and the shipper had no care in the world to put even an ounce of protection thus this is the result 

I'm not experienced with much prep and not confident superglue would cut it so what would you all recommend to help repair this specimen as well as clean off some of the dirt/dust layer coating alot of it?

[Ptychodus04]

Ouch!!!!! 1st, see if you can get your money back.

 

2nd, if you can't then a repair can be done. Honestly, I have had really good results with the clear, non-expanding, Gorilla Glue. It will take you a while but you will want to glue one joint at a time. Put all the pieces together to see where you should logically start. Then, put a thin layer of glue on one side of the break, Use a clamp to put pressure on the joint and let it sit for a couple days. you can use a folded towel on both clamp faces to keep from marring the fossil, or use a rubber surfaced clamp. Make sure you don't put too much glue in the joint or it will run out onto the surface of the ammonite, causing more headaches. Repeat this process until you have all the joints glued up.

 

Or, you can ship it to me and I'll handle the repair and ship it back (well protected).

[FranzBernhard]

Oh well, what a nightmare!

 

I don´t know how to fix it, though!

 

But: What was the description of the seller? I see pieces of iridescent stuff glued to a possibly heavily sculpted ammonite? Most of the iridescent stuff seems to be not native to this particular ammonite. I suppose it is from Madagasy.

 

I would send it back and claim a refund!
 

Franz Bernhard

[Notidanodon]

11 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said:

Oh well, what a nightmare!

 

I don´t know how to fix it, though!

 

But: What was the description of the seller? I see pieces of iridescent stuff glued to a possibly heavily sculpted ammonite? Most of the iridescent stuff seems to be not native to this particular ammonite. I suppose it is from Madagasy.

 

I would send it back and claim a refund!
 

Franz Bernhard

This looks like the typical preservation of ammonite ammonites from Alberta Canada with cracked ammonite, this looks 100% natural to me

[Ptychodus04]

5 minutes ago, will stevenson said:

This looks like the typical preservation of ammonite ammonites from Alberta Canada with cracked ammonite, this looks 100% natural to me

+1 for legit ammonite.

[FranzBernhard]

10 minutes ago, will stevenson said:

This looks like the typical preservation of ammonite ammonites from Alberta Canada with cracked ammonite, this looks 100% natural to me

 

5 minutes ago, Ptychodus04 said:

+1 for legit ammonite.

Ok, thanks!

But now its really, really: !!!

I can feel the pain!! 

If it had been a composited specimen - so what! But such a nice genuine specimen, that´s more than a nightmare...

Franz Bernhard

[caldigger]

Question:  was this all there was to the breakage or did you have a handful of crumbs in the box that you've cleaned up for the picture?  Otherwise, it looks like some clean breaks and it cal likely be glued back without having to fill in missing areas.

[Bobby Rico]

Oh sorry, It is really annoys sometimes  the lack of care given to fossils in transit because the sellers think they are rocks so they be fine. I now if I purchase of a seller I don’t know  on our favourite auction site , I give them instructions on how to pack the fossil. I think they sometimes get offended but I explain it is better getting negative feedback and refunding moneys. 
 

As Kris said try and get you money back first and if you payed with PayPal they can also help. 

[Kurufossils]

Thanks everyone for the swift responses! I was able to get a full refund very swiftly so its a freebie at this point thankfully. There are some finer crumbs hidden away underneath it unfortunately but I don't want to move it around to much yet till I'm ready to begin the healing process. 

 

I'm  wondering if I should invest into a particular glue or would super glue be ok?

[Kurufossils]

1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said:

Ouch!!!!! 1st, see if you can get your money back.

 

2nd, if you can't then a repair can be done. Honestly, I have had really good results with the clear, non-expanding, Gorilla Glue. It will take you a while but you will want to glue one joint at a time. Put all the pieces together to see where you should logically start. Then, put a thin layer of glue on one side of the break, Use a clamp to put pressure on the joint and let it sit for a couple days. you can use a folded towel on both clamp faces to keep from marring the fossil, or use a rubber surfaced clamp. Make sure you don't put too much glue in the joint or it will run out onto the surface of the ammonite, causing more headaches. Repeat this process until you have all the joints glued up.

 

Or, you can ship it to me and I'll handle the repair and ship it back (well protected).

Thank you so much for the advice I'm glad gorilla glue would be ok, I definitely going to address the damage further and see otherwise I will definitely take you up on your offer and send you a message as this is something I definitely do not deal with often haha.

[Kurufossils]

24 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

Oh sorry, It is really annoys sometimes  the lack of care given to fossils in transit because the sellers think they are rocks so they be fine. I now if I purchase of a seller I don’t know  on our favourite auction site , I give them instructions on how to pack the fossil. I think they sometimes get offended but I explain it is better getting negative feedback and refunding moneys. 
 

As Kris said try and get you money back first and if you payed with PayPal they can also help. 

@Bobby Rico I agree I'm use to the occasional terribly packaged fossil but not one with no protection at all lol, that's a very good idea and a habit I should get into as sometimes I trust to much better to be safe than sorry for now on, definitely was able to get a full refund on this swiftly thankfully. 

[Randyw]

+1 I’m with kris on this. some non expanding gorilla glue, clamps/ straps and some patience and you should come out great!

[RJB]

  Ive done lots of these.  Its obvious to me it has been repaired before.  You can easily see the 'extra' pieces of shell material put in places where it was put back together.   There are more than one way to fix this.   I would glue back on the main pieces all at the same time to mke sure that all goes back together again.    Excess glue is not a worry for me cause after all the breaks have been repaired, I would then go on a wet sanding attack, (very carefully), and then coat the intire thing with a 2 part clear coat.  It would look most beautiful after all this.  Good luck man

 

RB

[Kurufossils]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I was able to glue most of it back and turns out a majority of crumbs came off the backside so at least the display side looks pretty good, while the cracks are visible for the most part they blend in well with the look of the fossil. I'm going to wait a few days before I do further cleaning on the surface.

[caldigger]

Nice job!

[Bobby Rico]

Looking good. Well done 

[Kurufossils]

@caldigger @Bobby Rico thank you very much!

[Randyw]

Well done!

[RJB]

  Hey Ryann, you are certainly heading in t he right direction.  Each and every one of those cracks can be filled in with a 2 part putty.  Some of these 2 part putties can be colored and also be worked with water and you have at least 45 minutes to work it.  Belive me, this is an easy fix.   Just takes a bit of  time.  Good luck

 

RB