Removing old polish residue

Regarding Jessica Johnson's questions on removing metal polish residue,
I asked Michelle Barger, Assistant Conservator of Decorative Arts and
Sculpture here at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for her suggestions.
She gave the following general advice for cleaning old metal polish
residue: submerge the object in deionized water to soften the residue,
then remove the residue with a plastic toothbrush.  A bit of detergent
may be useful.  If parts of the object are water sensitive, they can be
wrapped in Parafilm and kept out of the water.  If the object can't be
submerged at all, sections can be moistened with wet cotton rags.  After
cleaning, acetone or pressurized air can be used to clear water from
crevices, interiors, etc.

Soaking usually works better than solvent wiping because it allows
enough time for penetration and loosening.

Until we are all on-line, Michelle and the other conservators at PMA can
be reached at:

    Philadelphia Museum of Art
    Conservation Department
    26th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
    Philadelphia, PA 19130
    (215) 684-7540
    or via e-mail through my address, eastmanp [at] delphi__com

Peter Eastman

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:70
                  Distributed: Thursday, April 7, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-70-002
                                  ***