Help my medals from rusting away !!!!???

[Ron Westerduin]

Hi all,

I just looked at my medals and i saw that they are RUSTING and CORRODING!!!! .....now what???......moving them to a different room has no effect i think because this is a very "moist" house.

Can i protect my medals with some sort of chemical so that they dont rust????

Help me out here!!!! I dont wanna lose my babys

[admcdonald]

Yes,a very light coating of silicone spray rubbed into and over your medal's only lightly.
Regards:Andrew

[Andy Mac]

As Andrew says, silicone spray works, I have also used a very light machine oil that also works.
You could of course give them all to me, to look after!!!!!!!!

Regards
Andy

[hawksy]

What sort of silicon spray, there are lots of different types, Don't say WD40 some forum members say this can do more harm than good- lift the paint.
I would like to know what mostr people on the forum use.

lee

[anguspm]

Assuming the medals are cased or in plastic wallets etc you could try those little bags of silica gel. I think they call it desicant. Normally they come free with a boxed pair of trainers. I know in the aerospace industry we seal engines in plastic bags and use these desicant bags to soak up any moisture in the atmosphere.

Hope it works out for you.

[hawksy]

Ive just seen a EK1st CLASS (C.E JUNKERS) selling for the price of over £200 with no case.

My stone mint CASED 26 is any match for that one, what are they doing latching on to maker names for a few BOB more.

lee.

[Ron Westerduin]

Silicon spray??...hmmmmm where can i get that !!!??? .....well i will just have to give my medals to Andy Mac


Just kidding

Thanks for the input guys

Cheers,

Ron

[Bill M]

--I, personally, won't spray my medals with anything (but that's me).
--Angus is on the money with the silica gel dessicant. Assuming that they are NOT in those plastic/vinyl 'wallets' (VERY bad for them!) and have room to 'breathe' as they should, a few packets of the dessicant should do well for the humidity.
--I have most of my things in a display case with the dessicant packets spread along the bottom. I also have little bags of charcoal in there to soak up impurities in the air, which can also cause decay. The charcoal is the same type as used in fishtank filters, not the barbeque type (although, hell, a brick of that might work too!!).
--I am also a bit paranoid, so I also have a de-humidifier for the room, where I have my displays, old documents and some of my more sensitive electronic equipment -- all are prone to deterioration due to humidity.

[Chris N.]

Plastic covering the medals wears them out quicker? AAAAH!!!!! best be moving mine then. Any thoguhts on where i should put mine then?

I have them in a plastic 'wallet' that is then kept inside of a hard plastic container.

[Andy Mac]

I can't remember where I last bought any silicone spray, but it would have been from somewhere like a radio/Hi-Fi shop that does spares and repairs.
DO NOT use anything like WD40, as it is petroleum based and contains a solvent. It has no silicone in it.
Plastic covers are not bad for all medals/awards but generally, I personally don't use them, maybe if I'm transporting them somewhere, I will use them for protection (sounds like I'm talking about condoms!) I can't see any problems with large Plastic airtight containers, maybe with silica gel packets for storage, but I don't think that makes for a good display!

Regards
Andy