syl1219s Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Hi! When display fossils, does sunlight damage fossils? Is there anything I need to be careful about when display fossils? like moisture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Depends. Most of the fossils are stabile, you will not get problems with sunlight or moderate temperature changes. A fossil prepped with a transfer method (like some fishes) do have resin as new matrix. This could get problems with too much sun (too much means, long time direct sunlight and warm), but with the most fossils there will be no problems at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 If you have fossils containing pyrite, moisture and oxygen can cause pyrite decay when it starts to oxidise. 1 1 There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadrosauridae Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Sunlight will bleach vertebrate fossils. 1 1 3 Professional fossil preparation services at Red Dirt Fossils, LLC. https://reddirtfossils.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB003 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 2 hours ago, hadrosauridae said: Sunlight will bleach vertebrate fossils. Direct and indirect light? Or just direct sunlight? 1 *Frank* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadrosauridae Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I dont know about indirect, but direct light absolutely does. 1 Professional fossil preparation services at Red Dirt Fossils, LLC. https://reddirtfossils.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 6 hours ago, FB003 said: Direct and indirect light? Or just direct sunlight? Bleaching is caused when energy is transmitted (mostly by UV) to the pigment causing it to oxinate and brake up. More light means more energy. Windows for example blocks short wave uv light quite well, but long wave ones get through. Sadly most UV is long wavelength ones since it passes better through clouds etc. But more you can block it, less bleaching. 2 1 There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brevicollis Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I have these Carch-teeth in my collection. The one with the matrix piece was found in a tunnel, the other was found on the surface. See the difference ? 2 1 My account and something about me : My still growing collection : My paleoart : I'm just a young guy who really loves fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Prolonged exposure to the UV in sunlight will absolutely affect fossils - not just by bleaching the vertebrate ones as stated above, since the same may happen too shells too, for example. Also, any chemical substance used to prepare or repair the fossil with, including glue or trace chemicals, may react or break down under UV. This effect may be mitigated by using UV-foil on cabinet or windows to block UV-light from the sun. 10 hours ago, North said: If you have fossils containing pyrite, moisture and oxygen can cause pyrite decay when it starts to oxidise. This is certainly another risk to watch out for - especially oxygen is a culprit here, less so than moisture. Again, this risk can be mitigated by storing such fossils in a closed container with oxygen-scavengers. Generally, however, the most important thing for maintaining a collection is to store it in a stable environment, with few changes in light, temperature and moisture. Because variations in any of these can cause micro-weathering, which will eventually cause damage to fossils... In this, air moisture should be kept to between 30-60% to ensure the air is neither to moist nor too dry. 2 2 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 19 Share Posted February 19 Years ago I collected about 12 feet (4 meters) of a petrified tree, in one foot long sections. When I found it n the surface the wood was orange-ish. I dug after it and the first few feet were the same color. As I got deeper into the ground, the fossil was dark brown. I brought the thing home and laid it out in my yard, as it was too big to bring inside. Within two weeks, the brown pieces had turned orange. Two weeks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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