Maitland
Full Member
- Mar 15, 2010
- 172
- 159
- Detector(s) used
- White's Silver Eagle, Fisher Gold Bug 2
- Primary Interest:
- Prospecting
Hi all,
A friend of mine recently gave me this tin mining sign pictured below. It's aged and it's fresh out of an old mine that was very humid inside at the particular level it came from. I'm wondering how I might be able to preserve it from decaying any longer? Is there any reason I shouldn't use a clear epoxy or lacquer to seal over it? Obviously I don't want to ruin its historical value, but I don't want to see it turn into an illegible sheet of rusted metal, either. The reason I'm concerned about it is because my friend who got me the sign has salvaged many other signs from this same mine and he told me that as soon as he's brought a lot of these tin ones up to the surface (where the temperature and humidity are way different than that of the mine), they've started peeling, corroding, and turning black/brown almost instantly. He told me that nowadays he brings a can of clear spray epoxy with him into the mine just in case he finds another old tin sign down in the mine - the only problem I see with that is that he's sealing in moisture under the epoxy when he does it in the humid environment of the mine. Then again, like I said, he's had a few of them practically disintegrate when he's brought them to the surface without doing anything to them.
Any thoughts on this? Can I just clean this sign up with distilled water, use a hair drier to get rid of any moisture on the surface, and then put a thin layer of epoxy over the top?
Thanks in advance!
- Maitland
A friend of mine recently gave me this tin mining sign pictured below. It's aged and it's fresh out of an old mine that was very humid inside at the particular level it came from. I'm wondering how I might be able to preserve it from decaying any longer? Is there any reason I shouldn't use a clear epoxy or lacquer to seal over it? Obviously I don't want to ruin its historical value, but I don't want to see it turn into an illegible sheet of rusted metal, either. The reason I'm concerned about it is because my friend who got me the sign has salvaged many other signs from this same mine and he told me that as soon as he's brought a lot of these tin ones up to the surface (where the temperature and humidity are way different than that of the mine), they've started peeling, corroding, and turning black/brown almost instantly. He told me that nowadays he brings a can of clear spray epoxy with him into the mine just in case he finds another old tin sign down in the mine - the only problem I see with that is that he's sealing in moisture under the epoxy when he does it in the humid environment of the mine. Then again, like I said, he's had a few of them practically disintegrate when he's brought them to the surface without doing anything to them.
Any thoughts on this? Can I just clean this sign up with distilled water, use a hair drier to get rid of any moisture on the surface, and then put a thin layer of epoxy over the top?
Thanks in advance!
- Maitland
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