As any curator or collector knows, the bodily oils and dirt accumulated from handling can quickly turn a good quality bone specimen into an ugly duckling, or worse, destroy delicate sections or tissue.  If you intend on the bone or specimen being handled frequently, it is highly recommended that you seal it to prevent further corrosion and damage, generally by way of sealant.

These instructions assume you have thoroughly cleaned and removed any debris from the specimen before starting, as any remaining tissue may produce undesirable fissures or bubbles. If you have a dirty specimen, there’s a handy guide to cleaning and preparing skulls [PDF] from the university of arizona (but it works great for most bones and specimens)

Materials:

1. Transparent Acrylic Sealant. I recommend a glossy transparent sealant for skulls, and matte transparent sealant for turtle shells and other related specimens.Also make sure the acrylic sealant is completely transparent, as some sealants will have a milky consistency if applied to thickly.

2. Vinyl or Latex gloves (be careful with vinyl, since some of the solvents used in the the sprays are corrosive. Be sure to check the label if unsure.)

3. wax paper

4. a table or place to lay the specimen in a well ventilated area (I can’t emphasize the last part enough, as acrylic fumes are a suspected carcinogen, and they’ve got staying power)

Instructions:

1. Lay the wax paper out on the flat surface you’ll be spraying on, leaving at least 6″ of wax paper around each side of specimen.

2.Brush the specimen off one last time, and inspect for any loose dirt.

3. Once totally clean, place the specimen on the wax paper, centered.

4.With gloves on, spray one coat of the acrylic on the specimen, coating the entire visible area.

5. Let the first coat dry. As soon as it’s completely dr, flip the specimen over.

6. Repeat step 4 for the uncoated areas on the specimen.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 once to twice more, to ensure a good protective layer.

8. Let the last coat dry, and you should have an enviable specimen with a shiny new coat!