I had not considered that until now. I agree seeing the depth these inks have sunk into would defiantely help. I did consider laser ablation to remove them but thats not really feasble for 4200 samples either. its a nightmare!
cheers for the help,
Sam
Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 12:49:23 +0100
From:
[log in to unmask]Subject: Re: Chemical Removal of ink and paint
To:
[log in to unmask]
Dear Sam
Have you considered making a polished section of a couple of samples and using a laser microprobe to see how deep the ink or paint substances have penetrated into the plug material? I think it would be helpful to have a better understanding of the nature and scale of the problem before expending effort on cleaning the samplesm
Hope this helps
Helena
Hi all,
I’m
currently working with a geological collection of outcrop plugs at the
University of Greenwich, and the company that supplied them was kind enough to
label each of the 4200 samples with indelible markers and fluorescent pens.
Sanding and filing is not really an option with such a large number as it would
set the project back months. there’s also some issues with the nature of the
samples. They are plugs from a carbonate platform. Eventually these will be
powdered and used in an ICP-OES and ICP MS machine as well as XRD.
Unfortunately these plugs are very small and being carbonates require double weight
to run in the machines so simply cutting off the affected areas is not an
option and almost every surface has been scribbled or painted on.
I’m looking
for a way to chemically remove these inks and paints WITHOUT altering the
chemical composition of the rock, as the project is about determining how the
chemical composition effects mineralisation and supports the sequence
stratigraphy. I have tried acetone but this has had little success and was
wondering if anyone from NATSCA, particularly conservators or those with a
geological background has encountered similar problems and how they went about
treating the issue?
Any help
would be greatly appreciated. Sam KerneyPhD studentGreenwich University at MedwaySchool of ScienceChatham[log in to unmask]
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