Before vs. After

The majority of specimens in my collection required some level of preparation after being collected in order to look the way they do. Rarely do fossils come out of the rock perfectly, typically they split out poorly or are still covered by matrix. After the fact, air scribes and an air abrasive unit are used in tandem to better reveal the whole specimen or better highlight the minute details. This prep process can take tens or even hundreds of hours depending on the size and morphology of the specimen as well as the difficulty of the matrix. While I do some of my own preparation, I have also had specimens prepped by fellow collectors whose skills far surpass mine. In my opinion, the ability to prepare fossils is just as as the skills needed to collect quality fossils in the first place.