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Here are two links to posts dealing with how to post pictures on Black River Fossils forums.
1. How to Post Pictures on Black River Fossils Forums by ditchweezil
2. How to Post Pictures on Black River Fossils Forums by Daryl
Wow. You guys never cease to amaze me. I'm actually printing this stuff and keeping it for reference.
Say DW, it would be more work for you, but maybe it would be a good idea to create a reference section/FAQ folder somewhere on the site and stick informative stuff like this in there. I can also think of the excellent info provided by others on the Lee Creek formations/strata etc. in one of the other threads. Plus, you know better than anyone how many times you see posts on "where to collect in the Low Country (or where ever)". Maybe you could just copy/paste some of the info from the posts/replies into folders by topis or something.
DW, the Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish can be found at any auto store (up here we have Pep Boys & Advanced Auto stores, and maybe at Walmart). It comes in a small 5oz and 10oz red jar with white lid, and usually costs between $5 and $10. Someone also recommended using tooth paste with the dremel to polish teeth. Has any tried it? The one thing you need to be careful of when using the Mother's polish/paste, is try not to get it on the porous root - it's difficult to get out of the pores. With you experienced fella's I'm sure this wouldn't be a problem, but for others, please try any of this stuff on some junky specimens first so you get a feel for the materials etc. Also, beware and take great caution when using your Dremel...I'm still learning myself. If using one of the little white polishing wheels, be careful about the angle that you hold the wheel on the surface of the tooth, especially along the serrated edges (if there are any). The wheel can snag or get caught and possibly do damage to the tooth. This is especially the case near the cusps. Besides the polishing wheels, I've also used Q-tips. You just have to be careful about the cotton spinning off at times, and you may need to trim the tip with scissors as you go, but Q-tips are cheap at the dollar store.
Daryl.
I have used tooth paste on a tooth brush before, but baking soda is more abrasive and works better. When working with any type of wheel polisher that spins, you want to get the spin right. It's a lot easier to show than describe, but holding a tooth horizontally in front of you with the serrations pointing at your chest and the wheel, Dremmel, etc. between the tooth and yourself the wheel's rotational direction should be over the top toward the tooth. This basically brushes the tooth from the centerline toward the serrations and virtually eliminates any snags. Watch your speed if it's variable. Too fast and you can damage the enamel, too slow and you're wasting your time. Also watch your pressure for the same reason. Be patient!!! If you get in a hurry you will screw up. This message is brought to you from the voice of experience. To get the tightest areas between a cusp and blade you can use unwaxed dental floss or narrow twine. Get the twine or floss wet and dip it in baking soda or other abrasive medium and draw it through the area that needs attention. To clean up polishing compound on the non-enamel portions of a tooth use a Q-tip dipped in alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is your best bet, Bacardi 151 might work in a pinch. Acetone also works but is less friendly to work with and will melt cotton swabs that have plastic sticks. It may take two or three tries to get all the compound off. I use one end dipped in alcohol to swab the compound and the other to wipe off the residue as the alcohol is drying. I tried to post a couple of before and after pics but I keep getting a message about the Edit function is not available. I'll try again later.
Check under latest fossils for the meg I posted, it was cleaned with baking soda. Some of the reddish teeth are only red on one side. Some of the coated teeth are greenish or greyish. The color depends on the mineralization that is on the tooth and which side was exposed to the water, which side was up. The more heavily encrusted the tooth the redder it usually is. Sand might be fine for points which are as hard, or almost as hard, as the sand but the teeth are a lot softer than the sand and can easily be damaged by the sand's abrasiveness. A little too much pressure and your smooth enamel turns into a patch of scratches. I will keep trying to post the pics of a batch of makos that shows some of the variation in the colors that are hidden under the mineralization. One thing to never use on these teeth is an iron removing product. It will strip the red right out!
The pics are posted. Look in Shark Teeth under I. hastalis. The pics show some of the variations in color that can be found beneath the crud.
This is a response to Daryl's message :
I could micromanage the information and make sure its all in the appropriate place but as you can imagine, it would take forever. The search tools on this site are much better than they used to be, so I think its fitting that the knowledge should be buried just like the teeth and other fossils we hunt. Let the determined seeker of information be rewarded by determination.
Thanks for the info on the polish. I have a few teeth that could use a good buffing. I use a cloth buffing wheel or dremel when necessary. River stained teeth are always a challenge, but the safest stuff I've found to clean it off is this hand cleaner called Fast Orange that I found at the auto parts store. It takes a lot of tooth brushing to get the stains off, but there is no scratching, no discoloration, and as an added bonus, you get a nice citrus scent and clean fingernails.
man,i thought i was the only one who tried this!!!yall some of my teeth come from the "crappiest" place and always need cleaning.i might have to go back to fast orange.
the dremel theing works too if your a pro and cloth weels i havent broke down yet for,as long as there is no dentin peel its always game for motor cleaning...
i saw your avatar like 430 this morning getting ready to work,and woke the whole house up after i saw your ferret weizel thing in jail stripes.
DW, that weezil pic is cool. If I had a cooler name to use other my own I'd ask for a picture too!
BRM, thanks for the pics of the before and after on the teeth cleaning. I know someone who goes down south (Carolina's somewhere) and usually comes back with tons of those reddish colored teeth, and he has shown us what they look like after he cleans them - awesome! I don't remember if he said what cleaning method he uses.
If you saw them at the Bowie community center or Pimmet library I know exactly how they were cleaned.