Cleaning marble

Jillian Adams <jillianadams [at] ci__lowell__ma__us>

>I am the Assistant Administrator for the Lowell Historic Board
>(architectural review board) in Lowell, Massachusetts. A staff
>person from the Planning Department of the city approached us about
>appropriate ways to clean marble. (City Hall has a couple of large
>sections of marble slabs incorporated into the wall.) They don't
>want to just use Windex on it, but there wouldn't be huge funds
>available for this.

Following Plenderleith's instructions in his general book, for using
magnesium tri-silicate poultices should work for most cases: it is a
treatment easy to follow, and if it doesn't work will not cause
damage.  The book can be easily found in university libraries (sorry
I am on-site and with no access to library, so can't provide
details)  I have in the past substituted kaoline, bentonite and talc
powder for the magnesium tri-silicate, with good results, so costs
can be kept to a minimum.  On no account use solvents, which would
push the dirt into the stone.

smadar gabrieli
objects conservator


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:23
               Distributed: Wednesday, September 25, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-23-013
                                  ***