Tyvek is used extensively in the building trade as a vapour barrier. It is
supposed to be an inert material and although it is available through the
building supply companies at a cheaper price and larger quantity - beware -
it usually has a brand name printed in large font all over it!

It is now available from many archival and conservation supply houses. When
we bought our (very large) roll about 10 years ago, we had to go straight to
the manufacturer (Dupont) nowadays for those who are interested: Gaylord
supplies a 50 yard roll for about $90 and suggest that it can be "cut, sewn,
taped or heat sealed", University Products (50 yds @$150) offer it with an
anti-static coating which can be removed with distilled water, they also
have a variety of envelopes made from tyvek. And most offer tags made of it,
but when buying tyvek tags you are going to have to test a variety of
writing implements to see which one is going to work on the slick surface.

I have to confess that we have never tried the heat sealing part - but the
rest it certainly stands up to. We use it primarily as the final wrapping
layer for rolled textiles, using self adhesive velcro we use it as a drop
cloth/dust barrier on our open shelving, as a regular drop cloth over item
sitting out for any time and we have made fitted dust covers for vehicles
(which is why we needed a very large roll!). The outer layer of our roll
does get dirty when not in use and being kicked about, but after cutting 3-4
feet the remaining roll is clean and still tests neutral.

A very useful material.

Carol Reid
[log in to unmask]
> -----Original Message-----
>
> Date:    Mon, 30 Jul 2001 11:26:04 -0500
> From:    Elisabeth Engel <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Tyvek
>
> When searching for materials suitable for shelf lining I came across a =
> roll of something I believe is Tyvek, which I inherited from the =
> previous Curator.  I have never worked with this material.  I know that =
> it sat in her office, unused for several years and when I tested it with =
> a pH pen, it came up acidic.  Does anyone have any experience with =
> Tyvek?  Is it safe for textiles like the archival supply catalog states? =
>  Good or bad stories?  Any information would be wonderful.
>
> Thanks,
> Elisabeth A. Engel
> Curator of Artifacts
> Circus World Museum
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
>

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