Preparation firsts- amphidonte walkeri and echinoid clutch, more

[Shaun-DFW Fossils]

A few random preparations I completed this weekend, my first try at these:

 

 

Amphidonte walkeri- Fort Worth formation, I used an air abrasive tool and a small touch of air scribe. I sprayed a clear satin polyurethane spray on it afterward. I go back and forth on whether to use a coating or not depending on the fossil, and it can be risky..but I think it works ok here.

 

 

 

 

The Mortoniceras was prepped by Mercer Brugler. It’s almost 7” diameter. I broke it in 3 places while removing it, so he used epoxy to glue it back together. I used an acrylic paint over those spots, and I’m not super happy with the slight visible difference upon close inspection, but it’s better than the color of the epoxy. Any tips?!

 

 

 

The echinoid cluster is one of my favorites, low phase Holaster echinoids in a clutch(with a bit of clam visible), I mostly used the air abrasive here with an aluminum dioxide (?) grit. 

 

 

 

Lastly, Mercer prepped the 10.5” Eopachydiscus using sand paper, then a water color paint across the sutures to highlight the details. 

 

[Fossildude19]

Very nice on all of these. 
However, be careful with Aluminum oxide, as it can easily burn through fossils!

[Jaybot]

Nice preps!  I also like how the echinoid slab turned out.

44 minutes ago, Shaun-DFW Fossils said:

I sprayed a clear satin polyurethane spray on it afterward. I go back and forth on whether to use a coating or not depending on the fossil, and it can be risky..but I think it works ok here.

Looks nice!   I personally prefer Paraloid-B72 for sealant.  If I don't like how it turns out, it has the benefit of being reversible.

Just my preference though

[Shaun-DFW Fossils]

20 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Very nice on all of these. 
However, be careful with Aluminum oxide, as it can easily burn through fossils!

Very true, especially with the echinoids! I have been lucky to have been forewarned, so I’m pretty careful, so far I only made a mistake on the bottom of an echinoid, blasting off a small chunk of the shell, fortunately not visible from the top or sides. 

[Shaun-DFW Fossils]

5 minutes ago, Jaybot said:

Nice preps!  I also like how the echinoid slab turned out.

Looks nice!   I personally prefer Paraloid-B72 for sealant.  If I don't like how it turns out, it has the benefit of being reversible.

Just my preference though

Thanks Jay, I need to look into getting some of that!