Paleontica Community

I bought some belemnites some time ago. They were a darkish grey colour before we put them in water to clean any dusty sediment off. But when they dried they reacted and went a whitish colour.
We tried putting them in vinegar but it made them slightly worse.
Do you know what I could do to get them looking half decent again?


[Editted by 0dinofthenorth on 07-08-2010 at 12:13 GMT +1]

Here's an image of what they look like now, horrible, aren’t they!
Hope you can help!

it looks like the left/upper one has lost part of the shiny outer shell, so i think that one is beyond repair. but I wash my belemnites in water too, and the ones from south Limburg dry up whitish too, I dont know how to stop it, but maybe if you make them wet again and use a tooth brush to clean them, they may become better.
greetings,
sander

Hi masteroffossiles!

We cleaned them with a brush in water, so I don't think it will help. Does it work on your belemnites?
The left/upper one never had all of shiny outer shell, but it was never shiny to begin with. But thanks anyway, it's nice to know other people have the same problem.

sorry i can't help you further, but maybe other forum members know how to solve the problem.
greetings,
sander