Hi Gwen: Yes we have this problem, not necessarily on radar equipment though. Nor do we have good climate control. Nor do we have resources for a conservator. Unfortuntaely the key is climate control. No matter what treatment you use to remove or mitigate the corrosion, if it goes back into the same environment the corrosion will likely reappear. My strategy has been very conservative. First I try to relocate such artifacts to storage areas which have the best possible climate and control thereof. Second, if the corrosion looks well adhered, uniform, and apparently stable (ie. its not flaking off, its fairly smooth, its not strange colors or globular) I leave it alone. I feel pretty strongly that partial or stop gap treatments will actually make the problem worse in the long-run. I'm sure more knowledgable folks can offer better advice, but I hope this helps. ________________________ Mark D. Hanson Curator Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum 1011 Pacesetter Drive Rantoul, Illinois 61866-3672 217-893-1613 * 217-892-5774 (fax) [log in to unmask] _____ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nelmes, Gwen (Contr) Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 7:49 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Radars I work at an electronics museum that focuses on military defense electronic. We have a wide collection of military radars, some of these are currently corroding. These include our SCR 268, AN/DPN-34 and DPN 53 antennas. They seem to have a green, zinc-cromate covering over the magnesium-aluminium alloy (?). The corrosion looks like a white hard powder attached to the outer layer of the objects zinc-cromate paint. We aren't sure how to care for it or to prevent it. We do not have the budget for a conservator and I was wondering if anyone had any in-house treatments. We do realize that temperature and relative humidity is a problem that we are currently unable to gain control. Has anyone encountered any similar problems in your collection? Thank you very much for any help that you can provide. Gwen Nelmes Assistant Director Historical Electronics Museum 1745 West Nursery Road Linthicum, MD 21090 (410) 765-9617 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).