Glycerine

Georgia Fox <gfox [at] csuchico__edu> writes

>Does anyone have any information or know anyone I can contact about
>treating live plants with glycerine for natural history museum
>dioramas?

I spoke with our diorama artist, and she told me that the results
with glycerine vary from species to species; the plant needs to have
a lot of lignin for glycerine to work well. On very soft plants, eg.
succulents, glycerine doesn't really work; it works best on oaks and
evergreens. It's not an easy process; the plant must be immersed for
6 weeks or so, and quite a lot of glycerine is needed. Her advice is
to try a product called "Never Say Dye", which is much easier to
use; the plant soaks it up and immersion isn't necessary. It's
available from:

    Rockmont Industries
    10675 Empire Rd.
    Lafayette, CO 80026 (USA)
    303-666-0101

It comes with complete instructions for use. There's also a book
available from the man who invented the product, describing the
results he has had with various plant species. The supplier may be
able to help provide the book. They will send the MSDS also; I
believe this product is pretty safe, because our diorama artist is
very safety conscious. Anyhow, she says this product works to
preserve plants for use in dioramas. Good luck,

Kathy Nanowin
Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:74
                    Distributed: Friday, May 3, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-74-006
                                  ***