Guest Nicholas Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 Just a few quick questions about Butvar-76, I have some vertebrate fossils which are in a condition necessary for preservation. Most would be practice pieces for experience in preserving future fossils. So here goes: Where is the best place to get Butvar-76? Is there any other substances which work just as well? Any precautions to my self or the fossil if I use too much? Does it work best with bondo or do other plastic glues work just as well? Is it recommended to remove any previous prep work from the fossil? ie: Cement, other glues... etc. My situation is, I had a fossil which was poorly prepped when I bought it. It was very very very unstable and actually the jaw has pretty much turned to dust, and the teeth well they don't look like teeth any more. Even when handling gently it would break up It was held together by contact cement of some sort, and my only option was to take the 3 teeth still attached to some poorly preserved jaw and use a elmers glue with water solution. It made it much more durable but it still is fragile. I was wondering if I could use the butvar-76 solution right over the glue to make it tough, it is no longer an impressive fossil so this is merely preserving a specimen good enough that it can be labeled properly then stored away for future reference if for IDs or comparison to other animals/fossils. Have at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 I think you're committed to water-based now. Alcohol-based might work, though; test it first! "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...
tracer Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 based on what you said you've already done, i'd try to further stabilize it with a less dilute solution of elmer's, if you previously used a diluted solution. although some manufacturers don't publish their formulas, familiar "white glue" is likely to in large part be an aqueous solution of polyvinyl acetate (PVA). So my preference would be to attempt to avoid problems by adding "more of the same", before i tried other things. vinac would be PVA mixed in acetone or ethanol, butvar would be polyvinyl butyral (i think) also diluted in a solvent. i have in fact "redone" elmer's treated fossils with vinac in acetone. i have not tried the other things you suggested. i would imagine some things would not work well together, such as varnishes over polymers, etc. i would also have a concern that the solvent used for a new treatment might dissolve some "glues" or fillers already on a fossil. my heart goes out to those who feel compelled to attempt to salvage treasures which are in bad shape. i will reluctantly admit to having addressed those issues more in my head that in my collection. to some extent, i'm a "que sera" kind of guy on some of those things. i leave them where i find them and hope one other guy gets to see them before they fall apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 If the piece has been sealed with white glue the butvar won't penetrate and you end up with a sticky mess for a few minutes. You can tack a piece together with white glue spots and seal with butvar after that dries but once it's completely sealed you're finished. I always use butvar as a sealant/consolidant. I only use white glue to attach porus pieces of bone together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 sticky technicality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 this is old information but pretty interesting. PVA and PVB should still be what they were then, i would think... garage science Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 my heart goes out to those who feel compelled to attempt to salvage treasures which are in bad shape. i will reluctantly admit to having addressed those issues more in my head that in my collection. to some extent, i'm a "que sera" kind of guy on some of those things. i leave them where i find them and hope one other guy gets to see them before they fall apart. I was heart broken when it fell apart, luckily I had an elmers solution handy... I try to keep all my "flimsy" fossils pretty good because I just lack the location and resources to find or buy high quality specimens in any quantity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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