Display cases

Jodie Lee Utter <jodie.utter [at] cartermuseum__org> writes

>Currently our museum is experiencing various stages of fogging on
>the inside glass of our 2-6 year-old freestanding display cases. We
>are using Glasbau Hahn manufactured casework and displaying mostly
>bronze sculpture, but also have found fogging within casework of
>non-metal sculpture. We have used effective solutions for cleaning,
>but find the fogging to return within a few months each time. ...

We noticed a similar thing on some of our small cases a few years
ago. The deposit on the glass was slightly oily, but fairly easy to
remove; it did, however, return after a few months. The effect was
concentrated in one area on the glass, and diminished away from that
area. This localisation enabled us to trace it to a release of
insulating material from part of the electrical control gear inside
fluorescent light fittings. If you do not have such lights in your
cases, then this will not be the answer to your problems--but if you
do, it may be worth considering.

Roy Garner
Senior Conservator
The Manchester Museum
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road M13 9PL
+44 161 275 2677/2657
Fax: +44 161 275 2676


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:1
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 28, 2007
                        Message Id: cdl-21-1-011
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