lawooten Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Ok I have plenty of acetone and will do that. The best days are spent collecting fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhemlock Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 This information has added to what research I have done on the web I have not decided on what to use yet I need something that is or has a very low odor so I may be limited and will have to see what costs what. But the information here for us newbies is great. Thanks James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 the only "low-odor" consolidant that's low-odor while it's being used would be a water emulsion, like pva "white" glue. but if you mean "low-odor" after the solvent evaporates, then most consolidants would be fine, in that none of my fossils have a noticeable residual odor of acetone or ethanol a while after they've been consolidated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpo568 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 this thread is WONDERFUL! I would not even consider myself a novice fossil collector yet and have only gone twice with the intent to collect fossils. Once on the Peace River (Fl) back in May (2012) and once in the Kickapoo State Park area (Il) in Sept. (I don't count digging through the gravel in my driveway as true fossil hunting)... I have to say that I have learned more about collecting, preserving and preparing fossils in the past 24 hours than I have in 44 years. this thread and this entire site has been a wealth of information and education for me. And I haven't even begun to scratch the surface. I want to thank everyone here for such a fantastic site and for the great information! I am still a "babe in the woods" when it comes to fossil collecting but I am certain with the help of this community I am going to enjoy the experience even more! THANK ALL OF YOU AGAIN! Fossil collecting newbie... (I may be from Illinois but I didn't vote for Obama!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 As long as this thread has been resurrected, let me share a new understanding. While working on some bones recently, it occurred to me that while moisture in the bone can cause the white film on the surface of a consolidated bone, that moisture may be just one factor. The other factor - perhaps the most important factor - may be the dew point at the surface of the acetone-wet bone. I was trying to take a short-cut with some very dry bones, consolidating them without heating them. (This is a rainy season in Florida where I live -- relative humidity stays high.) The bones developed some of the cloudy surface problems that we've discussed here. When I used the heat lamp on similar bones a few minutes later, no cloudiness. Here's the explanation I think is right: Liquid acetone vigorously boils off the surface of the bone. This evaporation radically drops the surface temperature. If the temperature drops below the dew point (the point at which atmospheric water vapor condenses) water may accumulate within the plastic on the bone surface. (How the moisture is bound up in the plastic, I don't know.) It may be this moisture that leaves an adherent white film on an otherwise dry bone. This adherent film is a different phenomenon from trapping moisture inside the envelope of plastic around a damp bone. In the latter case, the plastic may not adhere to the bone surface at all, but form moist blisters which are readily removed. To be fair, others have mentioned humidity as a possible factor in producing this white film. I tended to ignore this possibility because there was no mechanism to explain it. And, I did not experiment. Sooo . . . My solution of heating the bone actually addresses both potential problems: Heating drives off moisture, AND it raises the surface temperature of the bone so that evaporation of the acetone will not drop that temperature below the dew point. Try it . . . You'll like it! 3 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Davis Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I am a fossil hunter from Florida I've been diving north florida rivers for 15+ years I am looking for a better way to preserve my fossils I know about the glue and water 50/50 mix but I have sold some fossils where the buyer claims the glue really herts the value of the fossil he told me about something called BUTVAR powder but I have not been able to find a site or store that sales it if anyone knows where I can buy some please till me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I am a fossil hunter from Florida I've been diving north florida rivers for 15+ years I am looking for a better way to preserve my fossils I know about the glue and water 50/50 mix but I have sold some fossils where the buyer claims the glue really herts the value of the fossil he told me about something called BUTVAR powder but I have not been able to find a site or store that sales it if anyone knows where I can buy some please till me Until someone else chimes in, here is a link to a place in Naples, FL, with Paraloid B72 (I think Butvar is getting hard to come by). LINK "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 If you search the forum for Butvar your will find a post that has a link to where still sells butvar and a lot of other museum quality consolidants. It is Vinac that I have been have difficulty finding is small quantities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I have a question that may already have been answered, but do these museum-grade consolidants have a shelf-life, either dry or in acetone? And how does one apply them? When I use WeldBond I dilute it in water and store it in a shampoo bottle and apply with a syringe so that I can precision-inject it into cracks rather than just slathering the whole fossil with the stuff. Can the Butvar/etc be used in a similar way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 (edited) Wrangellian Malcolmt pretty much answered your question in post #4 here: http://www.thefossil...dry#entry320396 Maybe this thread should be moved to this forum. Edited October 30, 2012 by Bullsnake Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Wrangellian Malcolmt pretty much answered your question in post #4 here: http://www.thefossil...dry#entry320396 Maybe this thread should be moved to this forum. Done. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Done. Thank you, sir. Glad to see you online! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) Thanks both! Hope I can find this info again when it comes time to use it, as no doubt my memory won't hold it til then... Edited November 5, 2012 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winklepicker Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 What would be best to seal Pyrite ammonite specimens? Thanks Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 What would be best to seal Pyrite ammonite specimens? Thanks Mark. Search the archives here . . . you'll find extensive discussion of preserving pyritized fossils. BTW, if you find an easy and reliable way to do this, be certain to tell us about it! http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sameflo Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Hi all, I am new on the forum, and I am colecting fossils from about a year. I want to preserve some teeth which started to crack, one of them a lot where all the enamel has gone, but I can't find any of the products that you have mentioned here in Romania. The only product that I have found is Paraloid B72 (ACRYLOID B-72) from the file that Tracer provided to us. What is your opinion? Is good or not diluted in acetone? Somebody used this product before? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Paraloid B72 in acetone is used by many museums to consolidate matrix and in thicker applications as an adhesive. I have some but have only used it a few times. My initial impression was that it was alright but it did not penetrate as well as Vinac which I generally use but have had difficulty in finding a supplier for that will ship to Canada. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sameflo Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thank you! So I will use Paraloid because is the only thing that I can find here. I will tell you my results in the spring because now is to cold to do this job. Brrrrrr.....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpo568 Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I was talking to a rock collector and fossil hunter from near where I live and he told me he has been using testors model cement diluted in acetone to preserve fossils. he claims that he uses this methind because it is reversible and much less expensive and the cement is more readily available. anyone heard of that method? to me it does and doesn't sound right. I am not about to try anything on my fossils until I know what will work. Fossil collecting newbie... (I may be from Illinois but I didn't vote for Obama!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 I was talking to a rock collector and fossil hunter from near where I live and he told me he has been using testors model cement diluted in acetone to preserve fossils. he claims that he uses this methind because it is reversible and much less expensive and the cement is more readily available. anyone heard of that method? to me it does and doesn't sound right. I am not about to try anything on my fossils until I know what will work. I am dubious. Can it cross-link? Will it change color? Your friend has not been using it long enough to know its archival properties; 25 years is no test at all. Here is a link to several paged of technical data: LINK Member Oilshale can probably interpret this information and suggest the suitability for fossil preservation. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 So I want to make sure I understand. I want to make sure the root on the mastodon tooth I found will hold up. At some point while digging I must have struck the tooth and busted the root up some. I only found one end of a root lobe. I noticed that the inside of the root is rather soft. I know this thing will be crumbly when soft so I want to ensure it doesn't fall apart. I read this thread and a few other pages and want to make sure I understand the proper procedure here. The first thing I did was set up a slow dry chamber out of an old aquarium. I placed plastic wrap over the tank and made a few small slits in it. This is to allow the tooth to dry very slowly. I am not sure how necessary this slow dry technique is, but I read it on another page. Next, I understand I can obtain some Butvar-76 and apply it to the roots of the tooth after it is dry. Based on this thread I should also heat the tooth prior to the application of the consolidate. This is my understanding of the best way to proceed. I know the root on this tooth is going to be crumbly once it dries and I want to make sure I can keep that to a minimum. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Anybody? Either Butvar or Vinac should do the trick for you. Personally, I prefer Vinac, but you'll be fine either way. Just make sure it's very dry, and you use a very dilute mixture of Butvar or Vinac so it penetrates the bone and just doesn't sit on top. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I have dealt with many, many wet fossils, and I have never used a 'slow dry' regimen as you describe. Put the tooth in a place with some air circulation, heat the tooth with an infra-red lamp (or in a closed automobile parked in the sun), then dip it (or baste it) in a consolidant. (My infra-red lamp is one of the most useful tools I ever acquired.) 2 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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