Alternatives to cotton wool

Savannah Marlatt <savannahmarlatt [at] gmail__com> writes

>I would greatly appreciate any input regarding cotton wool
>alternatives, including the use of alternatives during treatment or
>ideas for potential alternatives.

I have found that the soft blue microfibre sponge sold as
"Conservators Sponge" by Preservation Equipment Ltd works well with
some solvents, including acetone and ethanol.

    <URL:http://bit.ly/ZqQmCV>

Squeeze out as much water as you can, dry it on paper towel and then
dip in the required solvent. Squeeze out as much as you can again,
onto paper towel, and reload with as much fresh solvent as you need.
Test a small area to make sure that any remaining water is not a
problem and that the surface is not abrasive. Use clean pieces of
the sponge, cut to shape and be extra careful if holding it with
forceps to make sure the hard tip of the forceps does not touch the
object. The sponge can be dipped into solvent and cleaned on paper
towel or the dirty surface can be cut off periodically. Works
wonderfully on small intricate areas as you can create long slivers
of the sponge and wiggle them into hard-to-reach areas.

Helena Jaeschke
Conservation Development Officer
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Queen Street
Exeter EX4 3RX
+441392 265951


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:45
                 Distributed: Saturday, April 13, 2013
                       Message Id: cdl-26-45-004
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