Riker mount acid free?

[Herr General]

Is the polyester in the Riker mounts acid free? Some website say so.... If not, what can I use to replace the polyester?

[redcross]

polyester is not the problem,

it is the cardboard/paper the mounts are made of

these are not acid free

[Bryan]

So will it armed my medals on the long run if I display them in such display cases?

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes.

You should see what the Rykers I had as a boy in the 1960s look like NOW... what is left of them.

[Paul R]

Yes.

You should see what the Rykers I had as a boy in the 1960s look like NOW... what is left of them.

So what should we use?

[Mike]

I use about 30 Ryker's and never noticed any tarnish or damage . About once a year I open every Ryker Mount and clean the Glass ...there always seems to be a "film" that clouds the inside of the Glass.

I remember some Collectors saying that since they are not sealed Air Tight , any "gasses" produced by the Cardboard or Glue should vent and not harm the Medals ....if that was true , then where is that "Film" residue coming from ?

Always wondered about that

[peter monahan]

I use about 30 Ryker's and never noticed any tarnish or damage . About once a year I open every Ryker Mount and clean the Glass ...there always seems to be a "film" that clouds the inside of the Glass.

I remember some Collectors saying that since they are not sealed Air Tight , any "gasses" produced by the Cardboard or Glue should vent and not harm the Medals ....if that was true , then where is that "Film" residue coming from ?

Always wondered about that

Yes, the gasses will vent, but not till after they've filled up the inside and done whatever damage/left whatever deposits they can.

BTW, "damage" is a relative term: for professional curators, any change is bad, even at a microscopic level, so tarnish from case chemicals or sunlight on air, surface dirt deposits from uncased display, etc etc all count as damage, though not as serious as say abrasive cleaning or acid-full paper rotting ribbons and so on. One can get anal about it all and everything does degrade at some rate whatever we do, but if the aim is to preserve "old stuff", then anything we can do to help is good: acid free papers, vented cases, etc.

My tuppence worth,

Peter

[peter monahan]

I use about 30 Ryker's and never noticed any tarnish or damage . About once a year I open every Ryker Mount and clean the Glass ...there always seems to be a "film" that clouds the inside of the Glass.

I remember some Collectors saying that since they are not sealed Air Tight , any "gasses" produced by the Cardboard or Glue should vent and not harm the Medals ....if that was true , then where is that "Film" residue coming from ?

Always wondered about that

Yes, the gasses will vent, but not till after they've filled up the inside and done whatever damage/left whatever deposits they can.

BTW, "damage" is a relative term: for professional curators, any change is bad, even at a microscopic level, so tarnish from case chemicals or sunlight on air, surface dirt deposits from uncased display, etc etc all count as damage, though not as serious as say abrasive cleaning or acid-full paper rotting ribbons and so on. One can get anal about it all and everything does degrade at some rate whatever we do, but if the aim is to preserve "old stuff", then anything we can do to help is good: acid free papers, vented cases, etc.

My tuppence worth,

Peter

[peter monahan]

About once a year I open every Ryker Mount and clean the Glass ...there always seems to be a "film" that clouds the inside of the Glass...

I remember some Collectors saying that since they are not sealed Air Tight , any "gasses" produced by the Cardboard or Glue should vent....if that was true , then where is that "Film" residue coming from ?

Yes, the gasses will vent, but not till after they've filled up the inside and done whatever damage/left whatever deposits they can.

BTW, "damage" is a relative term: for professional curators, any change is bad, even at a microscopic level, so tarnish from case chemicals or sunlight on air, surface dirt deposits from uncased display, etc etc all count as damage, though not as serious as say abrasive cleaning or acid-full paper rotting ribbons and so on. One can get anal about it all and everything does degrade at some rate whatever we do, but if the aim is to preserve "old stuff", then anything we can do to help is good: acid free papers, vented cases, etc.

My tuppence worth,

Peter

[Ed_Haynes]

I use about 30 Ryker's and never noticed any tarnish or damage . About once a year I open every Ryker Mount and clean the Glass ...there always seems to be a "film" that clouds the inside of the Glass.

I remember some Collectors saying that since they are not sealed Air Tight , any "gasses" produced by the Cardboard or Glue should vent and not harm the Medals ....if that was true , then where is that "Film" residue coming from ?

Always wondered about that

Anything that leaves film on the inside of the glass also leaves crud on what is inside that container. And it can't be good. Short of a $8000 museum-standard ugly metal cabinet, what are we to do?! Maybe buy the selfsame "$8000 museum-standard ugly metal cabinet"?

Not advertizing, but an example:

http://www.vikingmetal.com/mus/search/228.html

[peter monahan]

Sorry 'bout the multiple post!

[Bryan]

then anything we can do to help is good: acid free papers, vented cases, etc.

Ok, so if Rikers mount are "dangerous" for my medals, what should I buy? Any idea were I can buy "Acid free papers vented cases"? I don't have the money for an "$8000 museum-standard ugly metal cabinet".

[redcross]

certainly an option for those who live near

cities is to look for map drawers - print files

archiects used to use them for blueprints,

many have become surplus,

of course you can also buy these new

the steel ones should be safe

there are wooden ones

and they should have outgassed

much of the harmful vapors after 25 years

some larger art supply stores actually stock them

my frustration at this point is

having cased and uncased medals

I like looking at the drawers seeing medals

drawers having mostly cases are not as interesting

and often you forget what is acutally inside them

I know not to sepparate the medals and their cases

as later they often don't get back together

but I do wish I could have the cases open and on display

but such deep drawers take too much space andd $$$$

and a fun concervation note,

most issue cases are not archival,

what can be done?

[Brian Wolfe]

I really hate you guys! No, not really.

I must say that most of my collection is stored in ways that would make a curator ill. I have some in oak display cases and the medals are on coloured felt. It seems like everything I have done breaks some conservation rule.

However, I have been storing and displaying medals and other artifacts in this manner for well over 30 years and have not noticed any damage. Except for the blue tone that some silver medals get over time. Please don't stand me up against a wall and shoot me, or worse make me go to an opera. It's just that I have never found any of my "bad" habits to have caused any injury. Like most of you I look at my collection quite often (my wife just rolls her eyes) and I think I would have seen damage over the years. I'm not saying that makes me right I am just saying that perhaps there is too much fuss made about things that don't matter a great deal. Now that statement will get me shot!

At the moment I am building a drawer unit with 30 drawers that are 3/4 of an inch deep to house my collection. When I am finished I will post some photos. Warning, it will be made of pine and have felt in the drawers. Oh yes, it is also ugly.

Cheers

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Anything that leaves film on the inside of the glass also leaves crud on what is inside that container. And it can't be good. Short of a $8000 museum-standard ugly metal cabinet, what are we to do?! Maybe buy the selfsame "$8000 museum-standard ugly metal cabinet"?

Not advertizing, but an example:

http://www.vikingmetal.com/mus/search/228.html

Now I am drooling! What a great cabinet. Let me see.... buy the cabinet and sleep in the garage or pass on the purchase and stay warm this winter. Considering Canadian winters I guess I'll go for the warmth. It would be a nice cabinet to have all the same.

Cheers

Brian

[Mike]

It's a Metal Box , that's for sure but ....I don't know if anything short of sealing our items in Glass will protect them for 100's of years. (maybe we don't have to worry about 100's of years)

What about the paint used on the Steel ..will the Metal sweat ? What type of Oil did they use to Lube the rollers (for the Drawers) ..Is the Cabinet Air Tight ?

No matter what we find ..there'll probably always be questions since our Homes are not a "Controled Environment" to begin with.

[redcross]

certainly an option for those who live near

cities is to look for map drawers - print files

archiects used to use them for blueprints,

many have become surplus,

of course you can also buy these new

the steel ones should be safe

there are wooden ones

and they should have outgassed

much of the harmful vapors after 25 years

some larger art supply stores actually stock them

my frustration at this point is

having cased and uncased medals

I like looking at the drawers seeing medals

drawers having mostly cases are not as interesting

and often you forget what is acutally inside them

I know not to sepparate the medals and their cases

as later they often don't get back together

but I do wish I could have the cases open and on display

but such deep drawers take too much space andd $$$$

and a fun concervation note,

most issue cases are not archival,

what can be done?