Sintra board

Chris Woods <director<-a t->ncs< . >org< . >uk> writes

>Does anyone have any conservation related information about Sintra
>board as a surface on which hygroscopic material items might be
>displayed?  It is a closed cell PVC sheet material. ...

We have Oddy tested different batches of Forex and other PVC boards
at the British Museum and observed that they usually pass the tests
but not always.  For instance, a batch of Forex from 2007 passed the
Oddy tests, but another batch of Forex from 2012 was rated as
'temporary' as it caused some corrosion on the lead coupon (this
test was repeated a second time and the same results were obtained).
I have asked 3A Composites if they made any change to the
composition of Forex between 2007 and 2012, but their reply was not
very helpful.  Our approach therefore is to recommend Forex for use
inside showcases as a replacement for MDF, for both permanent and
temporary display.  However, we advise testing samples of boards
from the same batch as those that are intended to be used before the
boards can be installed inside showcases.

I hope this information is useful.

Capucine Korenberg


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:6
                   Distributed: Sunday, July 13, 2014
                        Message Id: cdl-28-6-002
                                  ***