This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Re. Potato Flour and Pests
Potato flour and cornmeal are common, traditional ways of cleaning furs. As they leave residues that attract pests, it's preferable to use an inedible cleaning material. At the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in the early 1990's we used very fine gauge glass beads to clean taxidermy specimens. The beads were rubbed into the fur by hand (wearing gloves) and then vacuumed out. If I recall correctly, this technique worked better on short-haired mammals than on long-haired ones. For more information on cleaning techniques for taxidermy, you can refer to the articles by Sarah Spafford-Ricci and me in the Journal of the American Institute for Conservation archives. http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic39-01-003_indx.html The post-prints of the conference Fur Trade Legacy: The Preservation of Organic Materials (Eds. Jim Burns and Margot Brunn, Canadian Association for Conservation, 2005) may also be a useful reference. Fiona Graham, MAC, CAPC, CAHP Associate Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects 410 Adelaide Street West, #500 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1S8 Tel.: (416) 929-6556, #112 Fax: (416) 929-4745 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.gbca.ca ________________________________ From: Jerry Shiner <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 10:53:52 AM Subject: RE: [pestlist] Potato Flour and Pests on FURS This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Message My family began cleaning fur garments s in the 1920's. The trick is to clean the fur without affecting (removing oils) from the pelt. Immersion will usually ruin the pelts, so a granular material is used to scrub the individual hairs. I've never heard of potato flour being used, but it makes sense. In our operations (and the others I have seen), sawdust, ground wood, or ground corn cobs are used as the scrubbing medium. They can be dampened with a solvent of choice (water, petroleum based solvent, etc.), or the medium may be used dry. Once tumbled or rubbed into the fur, the medium (and the dirt it holds) must be completely removed. In Europe in the early part of the last century, fur cleanersr (their apprentices, children, etc.) would beat out the sawdust from the furs with bamboo canes. I understand (from discussing with a real "old timer") that this was difficult and dirty work. In "modern" commericial operations, we used cylindrical cages (like a giant dryer drum made of fencing) to tumble the furs to shake out the bulk of the sawdust. The corners and pockets were cleaned of sawdust residue with compressed air. Then garments were brushed, sprayed with an appropriate shining agent (often containing silicone), and ironed on specialized machines. Then buttons were uncovered, linings fixed and steamed, garments sorted, examined, invoiced, stored, shipped, etc. (more than anyone needed to know?) hope this is of use, at least anecdotally you have other options (see above), and the idea of potato flour residue (there's always some residue) makes me nervous. js Jerry Shiner Keepsafe Microclimate Systems 800 683 4696 www.keepsafe.ca [email protected] Specializing in the design, procurement, and installation of environmental control systems in museums and archives. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Abigail K Stevens Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 7:44 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [pestlist] Potato Flour and Pests This is a message from the Museumpests List. To post to this list send it as an email to [email protected] To unsubscribe please look at the footer of this email. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dear all, One of our conservators is talking about using potato flour as part of a cleaning process for taxidermy. Although the flour is blown out of the fur/hair at the end of the process, I am concerned that any residue could potentially provide a food source for pests. I was wondering whether anyone has any experience of using potato flour on taxidermy, and whether or not it has made the taxidermy even more appealing to pests? Many thanks in advance, Abby Abby Stevens| Preventive Conservator | The Manchester Museum & The Whitworth Art Gallery t: 0161 306 1590 |t: 07825 011 011 | [email protected] Monday, Tuesday & Friday at The Manchester Museum Wednesday & Thursday at The Whitworth Art Gallery www.manchester.ac.uk/museumor www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [email protected] and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to [email protected] with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email [email protected] or [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [email protected] and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to [email protected] with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email [email protected] or [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To send an email to the list, send your msg to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this list send an email to [email protected] and in the subject put: "unsubscribe" - no quotes please. You are receiving the Pestlist emails in standard mode. To change to the DIGEST mode send an email to [email protected] with this command in the body: set mode digest pestlist Any problems email [email protected] or [email protected]
