Volume 3, Number 2, May 1981, p.7

Letter to the Editor

I would like to comment on the article by Janet Davenzer in the February, 1981 (Vol. 3, No. 1) issue of the WAAC Newsletter, regarding the use of fiberglass in the removal of oxidation from metallic yarns.

The first publication of this method, as far as I know, was in Studies in Conservation, August 1964, which Janet cites. At the time of the Studies in Conservation publication, I was concerned for the safety of the textile using this method. The inevitable bits of fiberglass which embed themselves in the textile are sharp, abrasive, and potentially very harmful. I am still concerned about this danger, no matter how carefully and frequently one vacuums the textile during the treatment.