Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/195

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
THE PREPARATION OF OBJECTS
165

subject to dust while in no wise altering its form, and to provide a method of removing dirt without injury to the surface.

If the officers of the museum decide that they wish to exhibit their casts white, there are three methods open to them. The first of these is the Albertinum method, which requires special apparatus that is rather costly but which is thorough and satisfactory. The second is a very simple process as follows: Take a one-quart glass preserve jar with a tight-fitting top and break up in it about two rounds of white beeswax. (This may be obtained by the pound or in five-pound packages from wholesale druggists. It comes in thin, round cakes about five or six inches in diameter and there are about seven or eight cakes to the pound.) Upon the wax in the jar pour a quart of turpentine. Set aside over night. In the morning the wax will be completely dissolved in the turpentine. No heat is necessary. Should time be short, a workable solution may be obtained in a half hour by breaking up a larger quantity of the wax in half the quantity of turpentine and shaking it thoroughly. Then take a soft, small paint brush and dip it in the solution and apply to the cast. Should the marks of the brush show on the surface, thin the solution with turpentine until it is easy to handle. Care must