Scotch-Brite Easy Erasing Pad

Laurence le Ber <lleber [at] dcc__govt__nz> writes

>I have been using, very successfully, an off-the-shelf product 3M
>Scotch-Brite Easy Erasing Pad. ...

Thanks for asking this question. I have the same. We and our
freelance conservators are also using these (or similar) pads (also
called "Zauberschwamm" or "Magic Pad") sometimes on stone surfaces.
Although we have good experiences (good cleaning results) we have to
take into consideration that (a) These pads are quite abrasive (b)
they do leave a residue on rough surfaces (it shows good under UV
light) and (b) I don't know about the interaction of the residues
with the cleaned material.

The pads are made of melamine resin which is formed to an open
porous foam. The cleaning action is due to abrasive resin particles,
which might stay on the object.

According to Wikipedia <URL:http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamin>
biproducts are formed during the manufacture of melamine: next to
polycyclic compounds as Melam and Melem there are compounds with
hydroxy groups (-OH) instead of amino groups (-NH2). These are
Ammeline with one, Ammelide with two und Cyanuric acid with three
OH-groups. In the finished product the hydroxy compounds occur
mostly in concentrations lower than 0.1%. It would be great to hear
a chemists comment on the possibility of interaction.

Dipl. Restauratorin (FH) Sophie Haake-Harig
Antikensammlung
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz
Bodestr. 1-3
10178 Berlin
+49 30 2090 5228


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:40
                  Distributed: Saturday, March 3, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-25-40-011
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