Looking for advice on prepping Needmore Fm trilobites

[Minerva8918]

Hi everyone! I'm a complete newbie when it comes to prepping, so any help is greatly appreciated!

I have some trilobites, trilo-bits, and trilo-butts from Devonian Needmore Formation shale from West Virginia that I'm interested in attempting some prep work on, as well as a neat solitary coral thing, and was hoping to get some suggestions on how to proceed.

I'm interested in getting an air eraser, blasting cabinet, and some Vinac (and acetone), but I want to make sure I'm getting the right tools for what I'm trying to accomplish.

So far, the only "prepping" I've done has been using a needle to pick off excess matrix that was covering some of the specimens. I may have been slightly overzealous with the needle on a few pieces (and by "may have been" I mean "was") that resulted in ugly white scratch marks on the shale. Will air abrasion help erase those marks? I've used a hard-bristled toothbrush with very limited improvement.

Example:




There are also a couple that have a bit of matrix over them that I haven't been able to get off with a needle because the matrix on that particular area seems particularly hard/tough/stubborn. Would air abrasion be sufficient for that, or is there a better option?

Example:




Here is the solitary coral thing I mentioned. In this particular shale, I know that the yellowish-orangeish material is very fragile. As you can see, the actual fossil is made of the very fragile material, and some of it has already disintegrated away, even though I haven't done anything to this particular piece. It does have some dirt on it, but I'm kind of scared to try to brush it off because I don't know if that would cause the fossil to further disintegrate. Suggestions?

I've read of people using a brush to brush on a dilute solution of Vinac. Would that be the best method for this specimen?

Solitary coral:

I have a couple other things I'd like some advice on that won't fit here. I'm working on getting that post put together, but I'd love to hear your thoughts in the meantime. Thank you!

Edited December 6, 2015 by Minerva8918

[WATERLINE]

Hi....I've been prepping my finds for a long time and I find the one thing that's most important is patience....

You're definitely doing things right but any fossil imbedded in hard matrix nodules or broken slabs are difficult to uncover completely.... I also try to be careful with the size of the hammer I use when I'm removing material near the fossil. One knock too hard and things can get messed. The one piece of equipment I invested in was an electric engraving tool that I modified to accept a hardened needle point. This can save a lot of time and can aid in, and near the delicate areas too.

Don't worry about the chisel marks...These will identify all your hard work in the end.

Good luck and keep going.