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December 3, 2008

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Shark Teeth

Cleaning and pr...

Cleaning and preserving shark teeth

12/1/2005 11:31:51 PM

legacyForum

725 posts

Cleaning and preserving shark teeth

Why are some teeth that I've seen so damn shiny and smooth? Generally, I've been hosing off my teeth and then using a toothbrush to clean them. Does anyone use any sort of chemical to preserve his teeth? I know resins like Butvar are used to preserve dinosaur bones. Any advice?

12/23/2005 9:39:30 PM

legacyForum

725 posts

RE: Cleaning and preserving shark teeth

Try using a little mineral oil on the teeth. This really seems to hydrate them. Also, if you find that your haul is a bit stinky (all Cooper River hauls are) you can use a bit of white vinegar in the soaking water to kill the smell. This will also help remove some barnacles.

4/16/2006 6:34:17 PM

da f0ssZ

31 posts

RE: Cleaning and preserving shark teeth

Here is my two cents worth....I will tell you that the state of preservation will vary greatly due to the chemical environment in which the fossil formed. The land teeth (in my limited expereince in the US East Coast) tend to be more brittle than river teeth. Same with mammal bone. For land finds, I will clean the fossils with a brush, rinse and then after two days of air drying (not in the sun), I will preserve the bone with butvar resin/acetone mixture. For shark teeth, this usually only applies to the root. The majority of river teeth require no additional preservation, but I also soak them for a day in a dilute acetic acid (vinegar).

Be careful cleaning off matrix from fossil. I use dental tools, and soem fossils take many hours, but it worth the wait (see my archaeocete teeth).

-DF

5/14/2006 1:02:30 PM

legacyForum

725 posts

RE: Cleaning and preserving shark teeth

I just started collecting shark teeth 2 years ago.All of my teeth come from rivers.I have had a time cleaning them.I just got a Ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight Tools.The one I got is the Mid size Cost around 60.00 I put only water in it.I put in a tooth set the timer on 480 sec's when I turned it on you could see the dirt and grime slowly be removed.I did turn it over and reset the timer again to 480 sec's. It cleans better with a denture cleaner tablet.But you don't have to use and denture cleaner. It didn't hurt the tooth at all.I did notice it cleans better if you put the teeth in center of the basket.It couldn't be any easyer.It was well worth the money.

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