Charcoal cloth

Alexandra Zappa <amzappa [at] gmail__com> writes

>I have been looking into the use of activated charcoal cloth to help
>prevent further corrosion of a number of lead coins in an unsealed
>display case with some wooden components but have had trouble
>locating much information that would help to determine the lifetime
>of charcoal cloth.

In my opinion activated charcoal cloth has been quite superseded by
copper impregnated plastic sheeting which can be used under showcase
lining and mounts. s an isolation barrier in boxes and on objects in
store. In store I recommend the wrapping of items in tissue or
flannel and then Intercept. I do not like museum items in contact
with plastic event thought the plastic used is polyethylene, so I
still use a barrier lining.  Careful labeling is needed as Items can
be mishandled as they are no longer seen. Alternatively place the
item in a box lined to prevent contamination by atmospheric
pollutants. Use of Intercept in showcase lining and under cloth has
been very successful preventing tarnishing of items etc. The product
also lasts up to 15 years with a visible colour change when it has
expired rather than the somewhat nebulous guess work with messy
charcoal cloth.

Victoria Gill
Freelance Conservator


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:38
                 Distributed: Monday, February 20, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-25-38-012
                                  ***