Trilobite Repair

[greenops2000]

It seems like every time I hit a really nice trilobite, a tiny piece of the shell goes off into never never land. I do prep work and often glue and blast but am often in need of a good filler for that tiny blemish area. Does anybody have any good repair tips for Devonian NY trilobites. Plastic, wax, epoxy, etc???

--Cheers!

[Malcolmt]

Perhaps I'm a purist but other than gluing back pieces that break off that I manage to recover I never augment fossils that have parts missing. If I need some structural filler to strengthen the matrix then I general mix Elmers whte glue with the same or similar powdered matrix and make like a cement out of it, but again that is really only because I am afraid for the structural integrity of the fossil not that I am trying to replace something that is missing.

Seems to me that it makes the ones that come out close to perfect all the more precious. Even though I have quite a number of really excellent Phacops I still do not have what I would call the perfect specimen so it makes every time I find one something to look forward to.

I get the sense that more collectors are Ok with repairs but generally dislike it when invertebrate fossils are composits or have parts made from painted filler.

[Wrangellian]

Though I'm not a prepper (would if I could), I generally concur with Malcolmt.

I often have that same problem of bits falling off or already missing when I find a fossil #$%^@, but I have come to just accept that it's part of the extraction process, but maybe there are things that can be done to prevent this from the start - like taking glue with you to the field and stabilizing the fossil before extracting, or by changing extraction methods (diamond blade-equipped dremel with a battery pack comes to mind - or something similar - where you would have otherwise used a hammer/chisel...?) I dont know what your matrix is like but my local fragile shale requires the glue almost every time before I start to extract/trim.

[Bullsnake]

If it's a matter of lost, or missing pieces, perhaps you could use less than perfect or disarticulated specimens and sort of 'part them out' to fabricate the missing piece.

Edited August 23, 2011 by Bullsnake

[Malcolmt]

i definately do stabilize trilos that are on fragile matrix or are flaking off. For this I use an acetone Vinac mixture or an elmers white glue and water mixture depending on the matrix type and fossil. I always take a bottle of cyano and elmers white with me in the field to stabilize there the specimens that wont make it home or to rejoin a fossil that splits baddly (always have a sharpie so that I can show the orientaion of the fossil in the rock. I geneerally wrap the fossil in tin foil to protect it on the journey home (this stops fossil bruises from rock to rock contact)