Blued steel

Fernando Gilabert Lorenzo <fergilabert [at] terra__es> writes

>I'm working on the conservation treatments of a XV century Persian
>helmet in blued steel with gilded decorations. Does anyone know the
>nature and composition of the bluing layer surface on late medieval
>armours? Is it possible to affect this layer with chemical
>treatments with sodium hydroxide or metal corrosion inhibitors like
>BTA?

You should contact David Edge, who is the Armourer and Metals
Conservator at the Wallace Collection in London.  They have an
amazing armour collection, including many blued items.  They also
have a metallographer there, Dr. Alan Williams, who might be able to
help you.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:27
                Distributed: Thursday, October 10, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-27-003
                                  ***