Storage Of Badges - Silica Gel, Plastic Containers

[hagwalther]

Hi Guys,

Looking for a bit of advice here.

I have a few zink based badges in very good/excellent condition.

We all know that zink based badges can lose their finish and this may be caused by them being stored under humid conditions.

As such, I have obtained a shoe box full of silica gel packets from a local shoe shop and have dried these out in an oven at 110 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.

I intend place these in plastic air tight boxes to keep the air within the boxes dry.

My first question is this, is there anything in silica gel that may adversly affect zink, tombak, buntmetal, etc. badges?

My second question is this, the boxes are made of plastic designed to store food in. Is there anything in plastic food boxes that could also affect the badges?

Many Thanks !!!

Regards ...

[Nick_since_1985]

why did you put it in the oven?

[Richard]

I'd avoid the plastic food boxes. They were designed for short term food storage and could contain chemicals that can react with metals over time. They, most likely, would not be considered archival storage.
Richard V

[Adrian Stevenson]

why did you put it in the oven?

You need to dry these bags out. They absorb moisture over time, so to reactivate them, you must dry them out

Cheers, Ade.

[Nick_since_1985]

I have a few of these in my cases. So I have to put them in the oven, won't the paper of the bag's catch flame?

[Adrian Stevenson]

They should be OK if you follow the directions given by Hagwalther. (10 mins at 110 degrees)

Cheers, Ade.

[hagwalther]

Thanks Guys,

Yeah, 110 degrees Cent is safe for 10 minutes.

Richard, each badge is in an inert 'plastic' sleave with inert card backing. I purchased these from a conservation supplier here in New Zealand and sleeve and card should have an inert life of 500 years (how they know is beyond me but that's a different story).

Cased awards covered in inert tissue wrap and stored in inert cardboard boxes.

As such, the badges do not touch the plastic containers but, I am concerned re: vapours being given off by the plastic if it actually does give off vapours at room temperature. I have looked through the net and although some info is available re: heating up containers in microwaves and the possible release of Phthalates I can't find any other info on boxes being left alone.

Do members here know what could vapours that may be released by plastic containers could affect our badges?

Thanks for helping out here.



Regards ...