dust on gilding

[Norman Watts <Norman_Watts@zzzzzzz>]

It was probably misleading of me to talk about "dust" on the gilded
surfaces. Its really "muddy water" when sanding under flowing water.
Static probably isn't the problem when considering why slate fines
adhere to metal surfaces such as gold and palladium. The palladium was
even worse than the gold, turning from a brilliant white sheen to a
dull grey after the water dried. That despite quite a bit of rinsing
and then quickly blowing the water from the incised areas to prevent
deposits following evaporation. It is also possible that the water
quality itself had an effect. I was finishing this work at a time when
the city water seemed to be heavily treated (in winter and spring my
skin reacts poorly to Bethesda water when showering, now that I have a
well that issue has gone away). Perhaps a heavy chlorine load (and
possibly clarifiers, precipitants and who knows what else) affected the
metals. Distilled water may be in order when rinsing gilded areas.

n

Norman Watts, Ph. D.
National Institutes of Health
50 South Drive, Rm. 1509
Bethesda, MD 20892-8025
Phone: (301) 402-3418
Fax: (301) 480-7629