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RustyCanteen

' take extra care and precaution and check items on a daily and weekly basis..'

 

Leigh

 

Good advice, Leigh.

 

This is one of the best things every collector should do at least once in a while. Vigilance and diligence in looking over items susceptible to insect damage is essential in preventing (or stopping) an outbreak. Thorough inspections are a must if one has a large collection of wool items.

 

RC

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Look for some of the tell tale signs that the moths/other insects may be extra heavy in the season. At night time look at porch lights to see if there are a very large number of moths that are around the lights, if there are quite a few then you may want to put some sticky tape next to the light to rid some of the moths. Cleaning the war room and checking the uniforms/items in the collection and constant observation/conservation of the collection is the best prevantative option..

 

I recall growing up in New Hampshire and the outbreak of Gypsy Moths and the catepillers that followed. Whole trees were consumed and large webs and caccoons could be seen, then the thousands of migrating catepillers crossing the roads to get to other trees.. Now that was an outbreak.. I remember watching my dad in the back yard with the torch buring the nests out.....

 

Even in the museum environemnt that we have here in Texas, we are not free from pests. We just had vector control spray the building a few weeks ago. But every once in a while we will see a dead roach, so we take extra care and precaution and check items on a daily and weekly basis..

 

Leigh

 

 

Thanks again Leigh! I remember the invasion of the gypsy moths in the 1970's - it was HORRIBLE. I remember the same with my dad and also us kids stompin them whenever/wherever we saw them.

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  • 6 years later...
Rakkasan187

I just wanted to bring this topic back to the top as there have been some great questions regarding conservation and preservation of our collection items.

 

Just some food for thought here..

 

As we start to break out of the colder temperatures and the plants and trees start to blossom and bloom the pollen in some areas may be starting to be seen and this will also be a good time to take a look at your items that have been in storage over the winter months. It would not be a bad idea to take some of your items out of storage boxes to "let them breathe" for a day or so and even to possibly rotate the uniforms. On occasion at the museum, we will rotate the uniforms or flip them from front side to back side and when we having hanging pants on padded hangars we will take them off the hangars and if there is a noticeable crease then we will lay the pants flat on a table for a few days and then when we rehang we will reverse the pants so that the crease will not be resting on the spine of the hangar. This will allow for the fabrics to reshape and not form a more permanent crease which in some cases cannot be ironed. In some of our storage boxes we have multiple pairs of pants stacked on top of each other. These are modern uniforms so for the time being this storage method is acceptable due to current textile policies, but each pair of pants is separated by either muslin cloth or acid free tissue paper. As we go through our annual cyclic inventories, we also take this opportunity to rotate the uniforms that were on the bottom of the box to the top. Once again this helps the fabrics and textiles "breathe" and it helps to relieve pressure on the fabrics.  

 

Also, the pests and bugs will start to be coming out again from their habitation and a close inspection of those nooks and crannies in the uniforms (pockets, armpits, seams, etc) would be something to consider. We can prevent further damage by looking at some of these areas that bugs like to nest in, and lets face it, we can clean and vacuum and dust and shake all we want but there are going to be times when we just can't see the critters and some will stay alive. If you look back at some of the topics that members had questions on you will see where we discussed freezing uniforms to kill the bugs and larvae, so just keep that in mind.

 

Another year has passed and our delicate paper products such as newspapers and old photos and magazines had again aged. Those that have them in acid free protective sleeves and other conservation methods I can only say WELL DONE. For those of you who have thought about getting some acid free archival sleeve protectors, now would be a good time to pick some up. Many of the Hobby Shops and Office Supply Shops will start to have sales and they have various sizes to pick from depending on what you have.

 

A note about photos:  After some length of time some may notice that the envelopes that black and white photos (and color photos) come in from the processing places to change negatives in to prints,, you may notice that the pictures will start to curl. This can have serious effects on the film paper if the photos are not stored flat. Acid free photo sleeves and post card sleeves can help prevent the eventual curling of the film paper. The emulsion and other chemicals in the paper and the developing process used so many years ago will start to degrade to a point where there won't be too much that one can do to save the pictures. It has always been policy in the museum to ensure that high resolution scans of each photo are taken and filed in order to have continuity in the event the original photo is beyond handling due to cracking and other issues associated with temperatures, climate and other issues. Once you scan the photos in your collection you can save hundreds of images to discs or flash drives which will make storage of these precious images easier to maintain. 

 

Hope this information is/was helpful as we continue to conserve and preserve those items of militaria interest that we have in our collections for future generations.

 

Happy Collecting and Conserving

 

Best regards, stay safe

 

Leigh  

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Cobra 6 Actual

Most helpful, Leigh. Thanks very much! Question on corrosion: if you have a badge or medal with some spots of corrosion and have tried to remove them with a toothpick with no success, is it acceptable to use a toothbrush with soft bristles and a bit of baking soda?

 

C6A

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Rakkasan187

C6A,

 

That would be fine, Soft bristle brushes and baking soda will be work and then you can place a light coat of Vaseline on the medal to prevent further deterioration. 

 

On Some medals (German mostly) the degradation and occurring nuisance is known as Zinc Pest. 

 

Leigh 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, Rakkasan187 said:

C6A,

 

That would be fine, Soft bristle brushes and baking soda will be work and then you can place a light coat of Vaseline on the medal to prevent further deterioration. 

 

On Some medals (German mostly) the degradation and occurring nuisance is known as Zinc Pest. 

 

Leigh 

 

 

 

Leigh,

In the case of the zinc pest on things such as some tinnies are you saying it's ok to use soft bristles and baking soda and light vaseline?

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Cobra 6 Actual
1 hour ago, Rakkasan187 said:

Thanks very much, Leigh. Honestly, I would never have thought of putting vasoline on to seal the cleaned badge, but that makes perfect sense!

Regards,

C6A

1 hour ago, Rakkasan187 said:

 

 

 

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Rakkasan187
23 hours ago, Thor996 said:

 

Leigh,

In the case of the zinc pest on things such as some tinnies are you saying it's ok to use soft bristles and baking soda and light vaseline?

Thor,

 

This is an acceptable method of conservation. I would find an older Tinnie that has really degraded and try it on that tinnie to see if you are happy with the results. 

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1 hour ago, Rakkasan187 said:

Thor,

 

This is an acceptable method of conservation. I would find an older Tinnie that has really degraded and try it on that tinnie to see if you are happy with the results. 

Thank you Leigh

 

dave

 

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