Paint finishes on storage furniture

Nicola L. Ralston <nlralston [at] nli__ie> writes

>My colleague and I have been asked to compile information on storage
>furniture. Our institution, the National Library of Ireland, is
>undergoing a major building/re-furbishment programme, during this
>process a major, long-term investment will be made in purchasing new
>storage furniture.
>
>We are keen to source factual information on the pros and cons of
>the various finishes widely available. Our prime concern is the
>issue of off-gassing.

In North America, it has become common practice to specify
powder-coated steel for storage furniture.  Based on California and
other localities' air pollution laws, more and more companies are
using it anyway because its production involves less solvents.  One
thing I am not completely clear on (and would welcome comments on)
is whether, as more and more companies do it, there is a possibility
that they are not doing it as carefully as the few companies who
were doing it for museum use, and therefore the results may not be
foolproof.  For storage furniture designed for museum use, this may
not be an issue anyway, but for the purchase of plain shelving, it
may be. In any case, there are other issues of off-gassing of other
materials like gasketting and design details as they contribute to
durability, safety, and convenience that may be better with
companies that routinely design for museum use.

B. Appelbaum


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:17
                Distributed: Tuesday, September 12, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-17-003
                                  ***