Hi again,

A little more on the topic. There remain a number of misconceptions about what 
is "safe" in terms of materials use and treatments for the display of objects. 
Like most things it is all relative. If you are displaying a lithic item for 3 
months you should be much less concerned than if you are displaying a work on 
paper or a metal object. 

If you are enclosing the object(s) within a vitrine you should be more concerned 
about the materials used in terms of off-gassing than if it is on a pedestal 
with free air exchange etc...

In a nutshell though -

1) For sensitive materials in an enclosed environment any wood product poses a 
threat because wood products are basically acidic by nature and by-products will 
accumulate over time. 


2) There are currently no known liquid coatings that function as a real barrier 
to these by-products. 


To view a link to images that illustrate test results of supposedly safe MDF 
products and a statement about barrier materials from Pamela Hatchfield - Author 
of "Pollutants in the Museum Environment" (the most concise and authoritative 
publication on this topic) please click HERE
Regards,

Ashley

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