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Hello everybody out there in fossil land. I am getting a huge slab of rock ready for prep and after yesterday, cleaning, scrubbing and washing the surface, I am left with an awful stain on the rock. Just wondering if it is there for eternity or can it be cleaned? I was thinking bleach but didn't want to try it and ruin the rock? RB Here is the slab. You can easily see all the dark/black staining.

L.S., Last fall I've collected a number of plates with sphenopterid foliage from the Piesberg (see photos below). While some of the specimens occur in high-quality rock (e.g., Specimens A-C), others show extensive yellow coloration due to water permeation and creation of "rust minerals" (mostly limonite-type minerals). In Specimens D and E, in particular, this mineralisation obscures the detailed morphology of the plant fossils. Does anyone have experience with removing yellow stains from shale-type rocks? I've been reading about rust removers for pavement and garden rocks but would like to inform myself as best as possible before starting a few experiments on leftover fragments. My goal would be to remove the stains to the point where I can more clearly see the plant imprints. These plants occur in quite competent shale. I think it can easily survive being wetted, but complete submersion for extended periods of time would probably be a bit much... Thanks for your help! Tim Specimen A - part and counterpart Specimens B and C Specimen D - part and counterpart Specimen E

Last one and I swear I’ll stop asking questions. This is the track in question about it being lightly stained and what you thought about staining. Is this a real trace fossil that you can tell of? If so is this light staining acceptable?

What’s your idea on buying a fossil that’s been stained? Yes no maybe? i been looking at tracks that say they have been lightly stained and to tell the truth I have a hard time making out a track without it being stained.

I took my dad out to collect some carboniferous fern fossils from a coal mine tailings heap. He wants to combine the fossils with his woodworking, perhaps making pendents or embedding them into recesses in boxes as decorative embellishments. Some of the fern fossils are slightly darker than the matrix they're in, but for the most part they're not as visible as we would like. Is there any straightforward way to stain or treat the specimen such that the fossil portion stands out better visually from the matrix? Ideally, some sort of stain that would have a greater effect on the fossil portion than on the matrix. Or (and I fear this is the case) would it be a matter of painstakingly hand-painting/staining the fossil?

Found along road cut on Indiana state road 13, in Wabash Indiana. Silurian and Wabash formation. Same place as the cephalopods fossilDAWG id'ed for me. I dont know if this is just a clever stain mimicing something or a fossil. I did find another ufo (unidentified fossil object ) on the otherside of the road that looked the same. The color that this is, is the same as other fossils I found. I figure if it was the same mineral replacing the fossils it might stand a better chance of being something. Thoughts?