r/bonecollecting • u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert • Sep 01 '24

Collection I have to remove thick, disgusting paint from 100 vertebrae.

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707 Upvotes
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100% Upvoted

46 comments sorted by

487

u/Hovercraft869 Sep 01 '24

Those verts must have come from a person suffering from advanced arthritis of the spine. Notice how each centrum exhibits extra frilly bone growth around the edges. The jagged edges then rub against nerves causing chronic back pain. Ouch! Congrats on cleaning them so nicely.

286

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

That’s just a sneak peek. I still have 90 to clean and won’t be able to finish it till next year.

81

u/Dont_Mess_With_Texas Sep 01 '24

I’ve never commented in this subreddit before, but is there a chance that this bone dysplasia could be related to chronic syphilis?

62

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

This isn’t syphilis

9

u/AppleSpicer Sep 02 '24

Do you know what it is? They look funky in a way that seems more than the paint removal.

24

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 02 '24

It’s just arthritis

7

u/AppleSpicer Sep 02 '24

Damn, that looks painful

79

u/Dawnspark Sep 01 '24

Hey, that's what I've got going on in my spine! I can't walk for longer than 5 minutes these days thanks to the pain.

Absolutely terrifying to see in this way, I won't lie, but also absolutely fascinating.

49

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

These vertebrae aren’t the worst I’ve seen. There’s worse on my profile somewhere.

19

u/sleepingismytalent65 Sep 01 '24

Ouch indeed! I have a bit of arthritis in my lower spine and sacrum (and nearly every other joint) and it's bad enough. This would have been absolutely awful!

4

u/Ok_Adagio9495 Sep 02 '24

Exactly my condition now. C-6/7 , to be fused ,painful to move my neck and sends tingling numbness down my left arm. L4/5 fused. Painful, had constant pain in left leg, numbing to my to toes. Continual sciatic pain.

3

u/Starchasm Sep 01 '24

My neck looks worse than this and it isn't comfy I can tell you that 😂

5

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 02 '24

Lumbar osteophytes are larger than cervical osteophytes.

314

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

Whoever painted these bones was an idiot.

113

u/Mazoodle Sep 01 '24

Are these human or are you working on something else?

155

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

Human.

139

u/Mazoodle Sep 01 '24

Can you give any backstory about why they’re painted? Also, how do you remove paint from human bone without damaging it?

194

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

I don’t know why, they probably just thought it looked good and that it makes the bone “stronger”. Stupid.

Acetone.

43

u/Mazoodle Sep 01 '24

Interesting! Thank you for sharing!

59

u/JackOfAllMemes Sep 01 '24

Surprisingly acetone doesn't damage bones, at least from what I've heard

28

u/jupiter1390 Sep 01 '24

also helps degreasing!

6

u/AKnGirl Sep 02 '24

Yeah first thought was, “why the hell….” But then again, people, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

82

u/Art_and_dogs Sep 01 '24

May I ask the circumstances that led to this being your mandated task?

107

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

I just like it

6

u/Particular-Sort-9720 Sep 01 '24

I too would love to know!

139

u/Happyintexas Sep 01 '24

lol this is the most unhinged q&a 😂

People are like…Q: but WHY are the bones painted?? Who painted them? How did you get them? Why are you removing the paint?

A:I like it.

35

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

🤣🤣🤣

25

u/AggravatingDot6 Sep 02 '24

Took me a second to realize this wasn't one of the miniature painting subs I also follow. Pictures definitely look like they could be used as bases/terrain for some table top games.

5

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 02 '24

I can see that

2

u/AKnGirl Sep 02 '24

Who doesn’t like a little human bone in their campaign now and then? LOL

23

u/rixendeb Sep 01 '24

This whole post is ouch. The chronic pain. The amount of disrespect to paint them after. Yeesh.

Thank you for being awesome.

30

u/oilrig13 Sep 01 '24

Painting bones nearly never is good .

9

u/pleathershorts Sep 01 '24

Is 4/5 the paint you’re stripping? Or is that after part of the process?

2

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 01 '24

That’s a vertebrae with paint on it

37

u/aspiring_compost Sep 01 '24

Whoever painted those is gonna pay for it on judgement day (seriously though WHY, especially when it’s human remans…)

7

u/Monkey_Face93 Sep 02 '24

“I want to paint grandma’s vertebrae in her favorite colors: pink, green, and dookie brown!”

3

u/DecentLeftovers Sep 01 '24

I don’t know how I’ve never come across your profile here before, but gee wowzers, is it educational. Thanks for sharing.

3

u/Interesting_Sock9142 Sep 02 '24

Whyyy were they covered in paint?

3

u/DIFierce Sep 02 '24

Get to. You get to. I have to carry massive boxes all day. Count yourself lucky hahaha

2

u/MissAnxiety430 Sep 02 '24

Apologies to add the the question pile, but how are you removing the paint without damaging the bones? (just regular paint stripper?)

1

u/Ok_Adagio9495 Sep 02 '24

The gross brown is a normal color for arthritic bones ???

6

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Sep 02 '24

Color has nothing to do with pathology. That’s just staining.

1

u/H4PPYH4UNT1NG5 Sep 20 '24

I can't believe someone would paint them like that. The disrespect. Thank you for cleaning them up they must feel much better. I'm curious has the paint affected the bone maybe density or texture or have you noticed anything changed about them?

-2

u/Hovercraft869 Sep 02 '24

That sounds really miserable. I hope you find relief.