Mammoth Tusk Restoration - Additional Advice Welcome

[SurfinBirdman]

Hello All, 

Been lurking and researching for a while but i inherited this specimen that my grandpa said he acquired in alaska.  I'm not sure but it looks like it mightve been more whole when he first go it but has just been sitting on a shelf like in this picture for years.  I wasnt sure at the time but not i know the blue powder on the outside is viviante.  

I've seen a lot of advice on doing a light coating of really dilute paraloid to try to stabilize the surface, then a thicker paraloid solution to puzzle it back together.  

Anything else i should be worried about?  Worthtaking a brush with denatured alcohol to try to clean it up a bit more?

*it had to be moved because they were selling their house and so i have placed it in a plastic tote until i decide what to do next.  

[SurfinBirdman]

@Ptychodus04 - You have been pretty active on other prep posts.  Would love your thoughts!

[fossilus]

Some things to realize.

 

Once you consolidate any surface dirt or dust will be hard to remove.  Also, for the tusk piece on the right, you may want to put something like zip ties around the piece to hold it together and reduce the void spaces.  If you consolidate with the voids open, you likely will never get them closed after the piece dries.

[SurfinBirdman]

Thanks for the advice and yeah, I'm imagining that 10 years ago when he brought it home it mightve been tighter but living in central valley of california with 15-20% humidity and high heat the voids opened up quite a bit.  

I'm currently torn between consolidating each piece separately vs trying to puzzle them together.  either direction will require pipe clamps to squeeze the voids out

[Ptychodus04]

Thanks for the tag @SurfinBirdman this is a wonderful specimen and it’s great the you are looking to give it some love.

 

With a tusk in this condition, there’s only so much you can do. Here’s how I would go about it…

 

Clean as much dirt and dust off as you can with ethanol (never use water on dry Pleistocene specimens). You should be able to scrub it pretty well with a toothbrush. Then, soak each piece in a roughly 2% solution of Paraloid B72 and acetone or ethanol.

 

When putting it back together, you can use thick Paraloid (I mix by approximate viscosity rather than ratios for glue). Go for a viscosity somewhere close to cold molasses. You want to spread it without it running. Use hose clamps to tighten the layers together but accept the fact that there will be gaps. Don’t try to force it or you will break the ivory. Once the ivory has dried, there’s only so much flexing that it can do. It will take several days for the solvent to evaporate and the Paraloid to harden. Be patient.

 

Once the pieces are together, it’s time to fix the cracks. I use Apoxie Sculpt. Mix some up and work it as deep into the big cracks as possible, leaving some room at the top. Let this cure. Next, use different colors of Apoxie Sculpt (or dry pigment) to mix a batch that is close to the color of your tusk. Work this into the cracks and smooth/texture as needed.

 

If this is more complicated than you want to get into, shoot me a PM and we can help you out.