[NHCOLL-L:5288] RE: Sealing wet collection jars

[Bentley, Andrew Charles]

Ashley, Judith

Just as a comparison, I have had a label test going on a windows ledge here in our museum (testing Alpha Systems polyester labels fort fading and yellowing) that have been exposed to all sorts of temperature and humidity fluctuations over the 6 or 7 years that they have been there and I have not seen any fluid loss from these jars in that time.  The Kols containers are extremely well sealing and durable and should not require any additional sealing mechanism.  I would think the tape must be very time consuming to apply to every jar in a collection?

Andy

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 Andy Bentley
 Ichthyology Collection Manager
 University of Kansas
 Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Institute
 Dyche Hall
 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
 Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
 USA

 Tel: (785) 864-3863
 Fax: (785) 864-5335
 Email: abentley at ku.edu<mailto:abentley at ku.edu>        :
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From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Judith Price
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 8:19 AM
To: AshleyH at cctexas.com; NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:5285] RE: Sealing wet collection jars

Ashley

I guess you're finding out we're all about specifics here. Hang on, I've got another:

You mention using a polypropylene sealing tape, but not which product or how you applied it. We still use the tape recommended by my colleagues Steigerwald and Laframboise (1996) in Collection Forum. It's the first article here:
http://140.247.98.87/files/1996_12_02.pdf

Unfortunately they don't mention that the tape must be applied at some tension in order to optimize the seal. We also now use two turns (plus a slight overlap) on each jar. I can vouch for the tape applied this way: we have jars that were sealed 15 years ago that still have no observable fluid loss. A pretty big improvement over topping each jar once a year!

The tape is no longer a 3M product but is available here:
manufacturer:  SpecTape, Inc. http://www.spectape.com/
SpecTape, #ST-408.   Transparent polypropylene coated with an acrylic-based, extremely aggressive adhesive.  Tests performed at the Canadian Museum of Nature showed that this tape significantly reduces the evaporation of alcohol from storage containers when used to seal the jar-lid junction.  Available in rolls 2.0 ml thick.
uses:  Seal the jar-lid junction of containers for fluid-preserved specimens to reduce evaporation of alcohol.
supplier:  Contact SpecTape, Inc. for distributors.

I hope this helps, but please contact me if I can be of further assistance.

Judith

Judith C. Price
Secretary, Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
Assistant Collections Manager, Invertebrates / Gestionnaire adjointe des collections invertébrés
Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la Nature
PO Box 3443 Station D / CP 3443 Succ <<D>>
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6P4 CANADA

Tel.613.566.4263 / Fax.613.364.4027

jprice at mus-nature.ca<mailto:jprice at mus-nature.ca>

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-----Original Message-----
From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Ashley Henderson
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 5:46 PM
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:5277] Sealing wet collection jars

Hi Everyone,

I am searching for a supply to seal the jar lids in our wet collection.  I purchased polypropylene sealing tape that is advertised for use with wet collections.  However, it has proven about as effective as wrapping scotch tape around the lids.  The lids were previously sealed with what appears to be very thin paraffin wax that came in tape form.  However, I cannot find this supply.  This link has an uploaded picture of the wax/tape substance http://i.imgur.com/uZUlM.jpg  Does anyone out there have any ideas on this or another way of sealing the lids?  Whatever I use must go on the exterior of the jars because many of the jars have a plug type lid.  Thanks in advance!



Ashley Henderson

Collection Manager
Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History
www.ccmuseum.com<http://www.ccmuseum.com>
(361) 826-4659


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