Painted tinware

One of the houses which belongs to the Society for the Preservation
of New England Antiquities has a collection of 19th century French
painted tinned iron which is in poor condition.  The house sits on
top of a cliff over the ocean and has very poor climatic conditions:
the air is very humid and salty and there are frequent changes in
RH.  These conditions have led to the corrosion of the metal, along
with the flaking and powdering of the paint.  We are looking for
recommendations for treating these objects.  Has anybody
successfully treated painted tinware?  For reasons beyond our
control, the objects will most likely be returned to the same
environment after treatment, and so our second question is about
coating.  Should they be coated and if so, with what?

Monika Z. Jankowiak
SPNEA Kress Fellow


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:41
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 8, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-16-41-023
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