Finish coming off my zinc badge

[CRAIGGOODWIN]

Hi I have had my Antipartisan badge in a riker mount & noticed the other day it appears to have started to lose the finish around the rim. Very stressful as it almost mint.

Having done the search & read the threads re the vaseline & zincpest, will this help the badge retain the finish or do I need to resort to applying a clear lacquer over it ?

I dont want to ruin the badge but also am more than keen for it to retain it's finish.

Any ideas or comments.

Has anyone used renwax as I hear that is like the miricale cure for everything & was designed for museums etc

Regards
Craig

[Hans N]

Hi Craig,


sorry to hear ur stressfull situation. Vaselin will stop the Zinkpest if you put it on and leave it on for 24 hours and then brush it off gently with a touthbrush or similar. This treatment will leave a thin layer of vaselin on it and will prevent further zinkpest as long the vaselinlayer is intact.

If you have white spots on the badge where the finnish is starting to get off, then i am afraid it´s Zinkpest.

Good luck!

[Mike Kenny]

Hi,

Craig, you're in Sydney where high humidity is common (at least when I lived there). I think you need to look at the cause (rather than just concentrating on preserving the damage already done) and take some serious longer term steps at de-humidifying the immediate area you store your badges in. I'm sure there are some good threads on here somewhere on the subject which should give some good hints that won't cost a fortune. If you start talking laquering imo you are messing with the badge big time - may as well paint it pink.

Regards
Mike K

[Frank Heukemes]

I agree, Craig, go for the source (de-humidifiers do not cost a fortune!) and in the meantime put vaseline on the badge, this will seal it and cause no damage. You can even leave it on there in a thicker layer until you resolved the situation. It is not dangerous as long as you use unperfumed, pure vaseline.

[Tim Curley]

If this were my badge, the first thing I would do is remove it from the case where humidity is being trapped. I had something similar happen to a bunch of uniforms one winter while stationed in Vermont. The uniforms were in a fairly large closet that was closed up. By chance I happened to open the closet and was appalled to find white mildew beginning to form on them. I immediately removed each tunic and brushed it off. Then I made sure the closet door remained open to allow fresh air to circulate. That solved the problem.

One of the few advantages of living in southern California is that you can leave badges in display cases without worrying about humidity - there isn't any humidity to speak of!

[Steve Richard]

Hi,
Riker cases are a great way to display and view some items,but it's very important that your badges do not come into contact with the glass and that there is plenty of space between the badge and the glass.If they are in contact ,moisture is easily trapped in this spot; particularly in high humidity areas.I learned the hard way that zinc and riker cases have to be carefully combined.
regards, Steve

[John Pic]

Zinc is a finish swallowing metal,not too much will stop the process.At least I dont think so. I havent tried any of the suggested remedies though.

[CRAIGGOODWIN]

thanks guys

For the comments & suggestions

Much appreciated I will dig out the vaseline untill I can find a better solution.

I feel lucky I have caught it early if it had of progressed I would have been gutted well & truely. In fact it was the misfortune of another member that gave me a niggle to inspect them as I hadnt looked for some time.

Regards
Craig

Craig,
Good luck with your APB.
The vaseline treatment works wonders, here's a before/after of a tinnie I just used it on.
Regards,
Fred