Wanda,
With the combination of materials and the presence of heavy grime and
salt contamination the very best thing you can do is to relocate these
items under shelter (preferably inside a building) until a more through
assessment can be done of their condition. Often using water, even in a
damp rag, can do more harm, such as driving in grime into deteriorated
leather, knocking off lifting paint flakes, and reactivating salts in
wood and metals. It is never a good idea to attempt to "seal" a surface
with active or potential salt problems as the salts can later activate
and very serious problems can occur later.
It seems to me that originally most of these objects would have been
housed inside a shed or carriage house or barn precisely to keep them
from deteriorating when they were is use.
With no budget the best thing you can do is to get these artifacts out
of exposure to the weather.
Cheers
Dave
David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California USA
-----Original Message-----
From: Caroline Posynick <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 4 Apr 2005 08:18:42 -0700
Subject: Conservation/cleaning of outdoor artifacts
I am forwarding this for a colleague.
Thanks so much,
Caroline Posynick
Registration and Collections Management Consultant
Currently at British Columbia's Government House
Office of the Lieutenant-Governor of BC
Victoria, BC, CANADA
[log in to unmask]
Hello, All
We have an outdoor compound with various items that have been there
for about 5 years, exposed to the elements. They are near to a major
highway, and have become quite dirty, with some traces of road salt as
well. Items include wooden buggies with leather seats, some of which
are cracked and weathered. Most of the wood has been painted in the
past, some of it is now chipping off. Other items are metal farm
equipment, and a fire hose reel (hose intact).I would like to do a
spring cleaning of these items with a slightly dampened rag. The
concern I have is, once the surface grime has been removed, how do I
seal/protect these items (inexpensively) from further elemental damage?
Will the cleaning simply increase their vulnerability? I have extreme
budget limitations, and if the process is not too involved, I was going
to enlist volunteer assistance.
I would appreciate any suggestions on this subject. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Wanda Mizner
Boundary Museum Society
7370 Fifth Street
PO Box 817
Grand Forks, BC
V0H 1H0
Tel/Fax (250) 442-3737
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Website: www.city.grandforks.bc.ca/museum
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