Methyl violet 2B

Deborah Confer <deborah.confer [at] colorado__edu> writes

>We have two stone tools with methyl violet 2B on the edges, put
>there by a researcher years ago.  Another researcher would like to
>remove it.  I have experience using mild solvents to remove
>adhesives from stone tools. Can you tell me if there's a mild
>solvent that will remove methyl violet 2B?

I think that the method would depend on the actual material. If the
stone tools have porosity to the edges (perhaps it was put here in
the first place to determine this), then the task of removal may be
hard. Photolysis by ultraviolet light comes to mind (bleaching), as
that would not be likely to damage stone. I'll check on the
absorption spectrum of the Methyl violet to see if it is worthwhile.
Heating is another possibility, again dependent on the actual stone
material (risk of cracking).

George Brock-Nannestad
Preservation Tactics, Denmark


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:62
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 12, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-62-003
                                  ***