UV pens

Rhonda Niven <rniven<-at->worcestershire<.>gov<.>uk>

>...  It is proposed
>that this be done by using a UV pen on the bottom of the book
>support on what is intended to be the side of the support that will
>be in contact with the shelf, rather than the books.  However, if
>the supports are put on the shelf with the incorrect orientation, it
>is possible that the UV marking will come into contact with the
>books.  Is this likely to cause any problems to the books if they do
>come in contact with the area written in UV pen?

I have done a few experiments with commercial UV pens for marking
glass, and I have found that on non-porous glass surfaces (and
possibly metals too), the UV-active coating  *is* prone to transfer
by abrasion.  However, if the substrate is synthetic, as on an
acrylic coating, some sort of absorption or bonding occurs and the
UV-active marking cannot be abraded by normal contact.  If the
synthetic is not tough enough, though, you can get transfer by the
coating failing, and tiny bits of uv-active flakes can transfer to
your objects.

I suggest a series of coating tests to find the best durable coating
for the metal supports that will also bind the UV-active compound in
a range of pens.  You can run simple abrasion tests and check to see
if any of the UV coating has abraded away or transferred to a cloth
sample.  In your case, you might also have to see if the coating
transfers to the shelf which might then, in turn transfer to the
books.  I imagine if the metal is powder-coated, or painted, the
UV-active coating *might* be indelible enough.

Linda Roundhill
Art and Antiquities Conservation, LLC
Woodinville WA


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:35
               Distributed: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-35-003
                                  ***