Sabrina,

A less expensive but equally effective approach to storing silver that
prevents the production of silver sulphide and copper sulphide is to
store your cleaned silver within a polyethylene bag after it has been
wrapped in acid free tissue (unbuffered). You could also employ
sorbents such as pacific silver cloth, 3m anti tarnish strips,
homemade sinks that contain activated charcoal or potassium
permanganate on alumia (carusorb). Do be aware however that activated
charcoal products can become secondary emitters once they have become
saturated.

You could place a small swatch of silver within the clear polyethylene
bag to act as indicator for the production of silver tarnish.

We encourage collections staff to place a picture on the exterior of
the storage bag to reduce the need to remove the artifact from its
protective enclosure.


Terrence Quinlan
Professor of Conservation
Applied Museum Studies
Algonquin College
613.727.4723 ext 5060
[log in to unmask]

On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:41 PM, David Harvey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Sabrina,
>
> Various vendors sell Corrosion Intercept (or Static Intercept) bags. It was
> developed for the shipment and storage of sensitive electronics and is ASTM
> certified (http://staticintercept.com/atproduct3.htm). The ones I have seen
> have a zip loc type closure that allows you to go in and out of the bag.
> This option has been used by various museums to warp everything from large
> sculptures and line crates for travel to small objects such as rings and
> jewelery.
>
> The reactive cooper is actually within the plastic polymer and should not be
> adverse to non-metallic materials. Although, since you are creating a micro
> environment, you need to be aware of RH issues as you always would
> (condensation being the biggest concern when an enclosed object is taken
> into an environment with a different temp.).
>
> The vendors for these bags vary between jewelery suppliers
> (http://www.interceptjewelrycare.com/) to archival suppliers such as Talas
> (http://apps.webcreate.com/ecom/catalog/product_specific.cfm?ClientID=15&ProductID=25306).
> And you can even buy them on Amazon.com
>
> Most conservators mix their own gentle silver polish with precipitated
> calcium carbonate (chalk) in distilled water with a drop of non-ionic
> surfactant. Sometimes the chemical electrolytic solutions are used (usually
> diluted) but we never just dunk whole objects in a bath like you see on the
> Tarn-X commercials. The removal of ALL tarnish can affect both the ability
> to see the engraving and details and also what is considered silver patina
> that can affect value. So going slow and having control is important in all
> this. As a conservator I have given workshops on the conservation of silver
> and other metals to train museum staff on how to properly clean and polish
> so that no damage is done and then know when to stop and call a conservator
> for condition issues that require greater skill and care.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
> David Harvey
> Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
> Los Angeles, CA
>
> On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 1:18 PM, Sabrina Henneman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Who makes the corrosion intercept enclosures? Probably not re-sealable
>> though. I’ve looked through my catalogs and haven’t found much. Also, are
>> they safe for objects that may have non-silver parts, including organic
>> materials (as in a powder horn with silver cap)? Finally, what is the
>> conservation thought on those electrolytic tarnish removers which claim to
>> remove tarnish without removing silver? I’m looking for a better way to keep
>> display pieces clean (we currently use calcium carbonate powder each
>> spring), as well as protect items in storage.
>>
>>
>>
>> I appreciate the comments!
>>
>>
>>
>> Sabrina
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>>
>> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of David Harvey
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:04 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] silver cloth ok?
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi Sabrina,
>>
>> Silver cloth is protective of historic silver and has the advantage of
>> your being able to custom tailor the cloth and sew it to form envelopes for
>> individual or group objects. The downside is that there is no indicator of
>> when the protective scavenging of the cloth is used up other than signs of
>> tarnish on the silver. There are also corrosion intercept enclosures, which
>> are polyethylene bags with a reactive copper film that will scavenge up the
>> sulphides, that many museums also use. The advantage of this system is that
>> you can see the objects in the bags and that the reactive film will change
>> color when it's useful life is done. You can buy it in bulk and use a heat
>> sealer to create custom size bags or you can buy it in standard sizes.
>>
>> And one of the best things you can do is to never handle silver objects
>> with bare hands - always use gloves! As a conservator with many long years
>> in the treatment of historic silver I cannot tell you how often I found
>> fingerprints tarnished and etched onto the surface.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> Dave
>>
>> David Harvey
>> Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 12:41 PM, Sabrina Henneman <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Just checking with conservators here if Pacific Silver Cloth (or another
>> brand) is recommended for silver storage.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for your comments!
>>
>> Sabrina Henneman
>>
>> Collections Registrar
>>
>> Genesee Country Museum
>>
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