Vulpex

    **** Moderator's comments: The following is a response to
    private mail Nic received asking about the use of Vulpex on
    copper alloys or steel/iron objects. The correspondent asked
    whether iron/steel objects ever "flashed rusted"

I do not think vulpex could be effective on any kind of corrosion,
perhaps some organic residues in the corrosion products, but
anything else is unlikely.  It can be a very aggressive agent, and I
always apply it in low concentrations, as I said in the post,
beginning with 2 to 5% in water and flush with water.  There have
been rare occasions when I tried it in resin systems without water,
but again these were situations where films seemed to be resistant.
The chemistry of a resin soap is rather complex, but I should have
prefaced my remarks with a good deal of caution about the
astonishing problems that Vulpex can add it applied without a good
deal of experience.

Niccolo Caldararo


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:52
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 12, 2003
                       Message Id: cdl-16-52-004
                                  ***