Ammonite Coating

[FOSSIL FARMER]

Greetings from South Dakota! I have a placenticeras meeki that I collected from the Pierre shale that displays good color, but I think it could use a finish coat of some type.  I read on a previous thread about beeswax as a finish coat, and I was curious if anyone had an example of a similar specimen finished in this way? I've used resin before but I'd like to avoid the high gloss while still highlighting the natural color. Thanks

[FOSSIL FARMER]

Here are a couple photos with the ammonite wetted down to show the colors

 

[SPrice]

Very nice Placenticeras meeki!  Other than and despite the fragmentation, the shell preservation is super deluxe!  I have a few Placenticeras pseudoplacenta specimens from the Juana Lopez formation, Cretaceous period.  Their preservation can be all over the place. But so far none with shell like yours. I can see why you want to save the colors.

 

The go to industry standard...depending on who says it is... would be Paraloid -  B 72, mixed with acetone at most 20% or so Paraloid. It's what I use and believe it or not I got it from South Dakota from an Etsy seller. Plenty on Etsy right now.

 

I have tried beeswax. It does work and has been one of the options. It has a few downsides. It dulls and is a dust magnet. Some of the other folks on here will add their opinions so you'll have some choices.  Keep digging those nice ammos!

Steve

[FOSSIL FARMER]

Thanks for the response. That one crack looks kind of bad but its actually naturally rehealed with calcite, so it could be worse.I've used pva-15 which I think is quite similar to the paraloid. It's just polyvinyl beads dissolved in acetone. I liked it better for stabilizing or consolidating than coating. I used it on another meeki and it seemed to wash out some of the color rather than highlight, which is why I'm on the search for another option. I certainly appreciate the info

[Ludwigia]

There's a beeswax product called Rember which works well, but I'm not sure if it's available in the States.

[Yoda]

@FOSSIL FARMER

 

The Ammonite is really nice 

Hopefully will look as good with whatever finish you choose to use 

[Fossildude19]

@RJB  @Ptychodus04

[RJB]

Among one of the things I use for this would be Floor Wax.  You can get it at any grocery store.  I learned this from a guy who used to do prep for BHI.  Simply brush it on. 

 

RB

[FOSSIL FARMER]

Thanks for the suggestions gents, I may swing over to BHI and see what they think with it in hand as well since I live about 20 minutes away. I might be over thinking things by avoiding the epoxy resin. I've done a couple with it that came out really well , it's just irreversible and really glossy. I did some reading on the paraloid b72 and it seems slightly different and more removable than the pva that I've used so maybe I'll pick some up and experiment on some small bits I've got laying around.

[Ptychodus04]

I use Paraloid B72 exclusively. It will seal and protect the shell and provides a slightly glossy/wet look. It also doesn't collect dust and can be easily removed with acetone if needed.

 

If you want a more matte finish, dissolve it with ethanol rather than acetone.

Edited May 9 by Ptychodus04

[Ptychodus04]

2 hours ago, FOSSIL FARMER said:

I did some reading on the paraloid b72 and it seems slightly different and more removable than the pva that I've used so maybe I'll pick some up and experiment on some small bits I've got laying around.

 

In use, Paraloid B72 is the same as PVA (Vinac/B15). The upside is that it doesn't get soft/sticky at higher temps and is slightly harder than PVA.