Nick & list,
Surely someone out there understands that Nick was not talking about governmental policy! "Conservation" here is something akin to "physical preservation": what can you do to keep your meteorites from deteriorating, from turning into a pile of rust?
This is a great topic for the list, and it has been discussed many times. I would love to see a website that collects such proceedures, tips, pointers, cautions and such like in one central location.
I have a related question: I am currently in South America and had a chance to drop in on Buenos Aires and buy some nice Campos. The seller advised a bit of hammering to remove patches of heavy rust, followed by wire-brushing, then two weeks in a stong sodium hydroxide bath, a good rinsing, then a few days in anhydrous isopropyl alcohol, a final drying, and a protective coat of mineral oil.
My question for those who know about such things: what does the sodium hydroxide do?
While we're on the topic, does anyone have endorsements or warnings regarding the above proceedure? Is there a better approach?
Thanks,
Norm Lehrman
(http://TektiteSource.com)
Nicholas Gessler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Nicholas Gessler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hello All,
As a slight digression from a post on the "aims of the IMCA,"
I'd like to initiate some discussion on meteorite conservation.
I used to be a museum director/curator and conservator of "conventional"
archaeological and ethnographic items.
I know there has been some discussion on meteorite "conservation" and I
wonder if anyone is gathering this information in one place?
I may go down to the Getty Conservation Institute and see what they have to
say.
I know the Canadian Conservation Institute is quite active.
But I don't think either of them have addressed the conservation of
meteorites, at least not yet!
Perhaps I should start an information page on the subject.
What I would like to see are scientific papers on the pros and cons of
various techniques.
Especially important would be comparative tests of different techniques.
If anyone could forward citations on any relevant published papers, I would
be pleased to put them on the Web.
Best wishes,
Nick
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