Fossil Claw Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I was gifted this partial 5 inch Isotelus. It is on multiple chunks of matrix that had been glued together but we're still really unstabe. The next pic will show after I did some work to stablize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 I wicked 3 tubes of super glue into the cracks in the matrix and then used some liquid nails in the bigger gaps on the back side. I aslo used vinac to stablize the shell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Once dry I used a hand saw to trim down the matrix to a smaller display size. I lightly cleaned the bug and matrix and then put some pledge floor care with future shine on the bug to make it show better on the matrix. Any advice on anything else I can do to stablize the matrix. Mt. Orab, Ohio matrix is a pretty unstable. Edited December 10, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Hi FC, nice big BUG. A couple of things I would try. First make a small frame slightly larger than the matrix. Than I would mix up some plaster of paris (color it if wanted or paint it later) pour it in the frame with a bottom, than set the matrix into it. This will give it a solid base. Than I would brush on the diluted vinac or B-72 so it soaks into the soft matrix and let dry. Several coats may be necessary. You could use acetone or alcohol swabs over the surface matrix to remove excess for a more natural look to the matrix. No matter what it is still a nice Isotelus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Hi FC, nice big BUG. A couple of things I would try. First make a small frame slightly larger than the matrix. Than I would mix up some plaster of paris (color it if wanted or paint it later) pour it in the frame with a bottom, than set the matrix into it. This will give it a solid base. Than I would brush on the diluted vinac or B-72 so it soaks into the soft matrix and let dry. Several coats may be necessary. You could use acetone or alcohol swabs over the surface matrix to remove excess for a more natural look to the matrix. No matter what it is still a nice Isotelus.Thanks for the ideas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) Hi FC, nice big BUG. A couple of things I would try. First make a small frame slightly larger than the matrix. Than I would mix up some plaster of paris (color it if wanted or paint it later) pour it in the frame with a bottom, than set the matrix into it. This will give it a solid base. Than I would brush on the diluted vinac or B-72 so it soaks into the soft matrix and let dry. Several coats may be necessary. You could use acetone or alcohol swabs over the surface matrix to remove excess for a more natural look to the matrix. No matter what it is still a nice Isotelus.Made mold and mixed up some plaster of paris before work today. I mixed in black tempera paint to try to get a gray color that was closer to the matrix color.The cast base is mostly dry. Looks like it will do a good job to kep it stable. Thanks again for the idea! Edited December 11, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) I like it, that looks good......... My view on fossils is that a piece of the fossil is still an important part of the animal. A piece of Isotelus is the same as a T-rex tooth. Not the whole animal but still a piece of the living animal. It is hard to find a whole T-rex and hard to find a whole Isotelus, so a piece completes the link. I would be pleased to have one that good. Edited December 11, 2015 by ZiggieCie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 I like it, that looks good......... My view on fossils is that a piece of the fossil is still an important part of the animal. A piece of Isotelus is the same as a T-rex tooth. Not the whole animal but still a piece of the living animal. It is hard to find a whole T-rex and hard to find a whole Isotelus, so a piece completes the link. I would be pleased to have one that good. Thanks. And very good point. My understanding is that almost all isotelus this size or bigger did not come out of the ground complete. They were in many peices and carefuly put back together. To get one this size or larger that is prepped back together and complete is very expensive. I am happy to have partial one that is this complete. It is hard to tell in the picture since the shell is multiple colors. If you zoom in you can see the shell is much more complete than it looks zoomed out because only a small portion of the shell it the darker color. It should look even better once I glue back on some of the shell that fell off. I am very happy the person that gave it to me didn't want to do any more work on it. It felt overwhelming because it was on a big conglomeration of chunks of matrix. The base was very unstable and felt like it could fall a part if you touch it at all. In the end it was not hard to take it from where he left it to where it is now. It just took being very careful and patient. Next I am going to attempt to put the puzzle peices of shell back on then seal it. Even though I am not the one that found it, it feels good to be the person that that saved it from the trash heap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Interesting. As the plaster continues to dry, the moisture evaporating to the surface is migrating some of the black pigment out to the surface. It looks like I will have to sand some extra color off the surface when it cures completely. Still better than bright white and I think once I sand the color that migrated to the surface it will still be gray and not need to be painted. I will no for sure tomorrow. Even is I have to paint it will take less coats to do it. Edited December 12, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 IMHO, I would think if you sand it lightly and just rerub the black in, you should be able to adjust the final shading on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Good luck Dom, it looks good so far Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Next I am going to attempt to put the puzzle peices of shell back on then seal it. In the future, I would do this part prior to adding the Pledge as it could interfere with the adhesive. I'm glad you were able to save this guy. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 In the future, I would do this part prior to adding the Pledge as it could interfere with the adhesive. I'm glad you were able to save this guy. I didn't realize there were enough shell fragments in the matrix crumbles in the box to bother trying glue back on. Good thing the pledge floor shine is easy to remove. Also, I am now going to paint the plaster as the dye job turned out way too light once it dried. Off white is not the color I was going for with the plaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Ahh, that makes sense. Good that you found them. Plaster is a pit of a pain to tint when wet. I prefer to paint or stain it after it's dry as that provides less frustration on my part. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Ahh, that makes sense. Good that you found them. Plaster is a pit of a pain to tint when wet. I prefer to paint or stain it after it's dry as that provides less frustration on my part. Lesson learned. I was hoping to save a step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 This is how we ALL learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Yup Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Here it is with and with out the flash after painting the plaster stablization base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Here it is with and with out the flash after painting the plaster stablization base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 Very nice. That should hold together well. Might I suggest a bit of tan tint to your paint? At first glance, my eye was drawn to the plaster rather than the trilobite. Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Very nice. That should hold together well. Might I suggest a bit of tan tint to your paint? At first glance, my eye was drawn to the plaster rather than the trilobite. Mixed in or blotted on top of the gray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 Dab of burnt umber brown added to the slate gray seems to take the edge off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 It keeps getting better and better. If you don't want it, you can just send it up 71 to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) It keeps getting better and better. If you don't want it, you can just send it up 71 to me. Thanks. Lol. I think I will keep it! Edited December 17, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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