Car bubbles

Marianne Weldon <rjweldon [at] mindspring__com> writes

>I would like to inquire if anyone has had experience with "car
>bubbles".  I believe they are relatively new on the market.  They
>are being promoted to car collectors as a way of improving storage
>conditions.  From what I understand they seal around the car with
>velcro (not touching the car) and a pump recirculates the interior
>air.

I would be wary in using a car bubble (of the type you describe) for
prolonged periods. If used on a new car, then you may have a problem
with plasticizers volatilizing and settling all over the car,
particularly if the temperature inside the bubble gets hot (eg
exposure to sunlight). With old (not restored) cars, you can get an
increase in corrosive gases resulting from the degradation of some
plastics and rubbers. The bubble should work well if you attach a
dehumidifier to it and pumped fresh, filtered, dry air into it,
providing that you allow air to escape, that way you reduce the
possibility of  concentrating plastizer and/or degradation gases.

George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
+61 6 241 6122
Fax: +61 6 241 7998

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:84
                 Distributed: Wednesday, April 15, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-84-001
                                  ***