Dumb question of the day

[I_gotta_rock]

I've been prepping my fossils manually for years. Glue is my friend and my worst enemy. For some of my delicate micros, one drop is more than enough to encase the tiny object AND glue it to whatever surface on which it rests. I've succeeded in gluing my fossils to silicone mats, pin points, and my fingers through plastic gloves after the glue ate through the gloves. Lately I've settled on wax paper and lots of rolling the piece around to keep it from pooling when the glue invariably rolls off the surface of less porous shells. It still sticks to the wax , but at least the wax peels off the paper and comes off with a bit of acetone and a delicate touch. There has to be a better way to do this with less permeable surfaces. What do you do to keep from gluing your pieces to the table? 

[trilobites_are_awesome]

Generally with what I prep (mainly trilobites) I use glue mainly to glue back on pieces/shell I broke off. My advice is to take minimalist approach with the glue.

[I_gotta_rock]

3 minutes ago, trilobites_are_awesome said:

Generally with what I prep (mainly trilobites) I use glue mainly to glue back on pieces/shell I broke off. My advice is to take minimalist approach with the glue.

Unfortunately, I have lots of material with myriad microfractures or that are just plain crumbly. Either I stabilize it completely or it's not going to last. I need it to last through researchers handling it 50 years down the road. 

[Ludwigia]

Try crumpling some aluminum foil and laying your fossils on it for glueing.

[digit]

Or go one step further and use parchment paper instead of wax paper. Parchment is silicone based and does not have a surface wax layer. We also use acetone and a small brush to clean off excess CA glue and to thin it a bit so it penetrates deeper into the fossil.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Lone Hunter]

Try smearing a film of Vaseline on whatever you use.

[Xiphactinus]

On 12/21/2023 at 12:29 PM, Ludwigia said:

Try crumpling some aluminum foil and laying your fossils on it for glueing.

This is what I do too. Works for me. I also do this for Pleistocene vertebrates that I soak in vinac. Creates a nice “drying rack” with minimal fossil contact.