[Nhcoll-l] [External] Re: Putty For Sealing Jars

Fri Jan 13 01:03:33 EST 2023

Dear all

I have had very good experiences with Terostat - especially for glasses
with a somewhat  uneven jar top.
It is easy to process, closes reliably and can be opened again quickly.

It will also offered by a Swiss company for taxidermy supplies.

https://www.taxidermy.ch/en/f078000031.html?article_id=78004741
[https://www.taxidermy.ch/en/f078000031.html?article_id=78004741]

Originally it comes from the car and caravan industry. I'm sure there's
something like that in the United States as well

Good luck
Joachim

--  
Joachim Haendel

Center of Natural History Collections
of the Martin Luther University (ZNS)
- Entomological Collection -

Domplatz 4
D-06099 Halle (Saale)
Germany

Phone:  +49 345 - 55 26 447
Fax:  +49 345 - 55 27 248

Email: joachim.haendel at zns.uni-halle.de

>>> Fabian Neisskenwirth <info at naturhistorische-konservierung.de>
11.01.2023, 19:58 >>>

Dear James,

to add to Robs very good advice and Chis recommendation of the
glassplate. I recommend you to use a float glass plate (at least
4mm thick) and pour some carborundum (SiC) in 80 & 180 grit, here is a
austrian supplier:
http://www.mineraliengrosshandel.com/Siliciumcarbid-Schleifpulver/Siliziumkarbid-Siliziumcarbid-F-80-1-kg::489.html
[http://www.mineraliengrosshandel.com/Siliciumcarbid-Schleifpulver/Siliziumkarbid-Siliziumcarbid-F-80-1-kg::489.html].

To start to get all flattened you use the 80 grade and then go to the
180. This has the advantage that you will have full control
of the jar, since you will be grinding it mechanically with your hands
and not with a machine. I have had the bad experience in
the past, that the lap disc literally took the jar out of my hand and
crushed into pieces. It's way more work and time consuming,
but if you have a steady hand, you will get at least 1-3 mm grinded down
without a problem.
You cant use the float glass for more than 4-5 jars, since it will get
uneven wile grinding it down.

As a seal I recommend you to use a beeswax/colophony mix (4:1) and to
head the lid at 120°C in an oven. By this you will get a
slight vacuum in the jar which seals it perfectly and inhibits
oxidation. It was used by the old teaching aid manufacturers back
in 1890's and its a great barrier for ethanol. Silicone will fail since
its permeable to ethanol with the years.

The only thing is that doing this requires some kind of practice, so
start with some tiny test jars and the go up the scale,
grinding and sealing big jars is a hard task. And use new lids of at
least 4 mm thickness too, these have to be grinded too of
course.

If all fails, there is a putty called "Terostat IX":
https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ch/de/produkt/flexible-sealants/teroson_rb_ix.html
[https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/ch/de/produkt/flexible-sealants/teroson_rb_ix.html]
This can be used with warm lids, so you still get the effect of the
slight vacuum. Its not tested for longevity, but some
colleagues have had no issues since the last 20 years. But its no
conservation product, so just to get this clear ;>)

All the best wishes from Switzerland,

Am 11.01.23 um 16:45 schrieb Tacker, Christopher:
> If you choose to grind them flat, the quickest and most aggressive way
to do it is 120 grit on a glass plate. I even got lucky
> at the glass business - they had unclaimed thick glass that they just
gave me. This is also fairly cheap in terms of supplies
> and time.
>  
> You could even get some wet/dry sandpaper at a hardware store. 
>  
> Chris Tacker, Ph.D., P.G.
> Research Curator of Geology
> North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
> 11 West Jones St. | Raleigh, NC  27601
>  
> Emails to and from this address are subject to NC Public Records Law
and may be disclosed to third parties.
> 
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>
[nhcoll-> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2023 10:32:06 AM
> To: James Maclaine <j.maclaine at nhm.ac.uk> [j.maclaine at nhm.ac.uk];
nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu [nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu]
> <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> [nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu]
> Subject: [External] Re: [Nhcoll-l] Putty For Sealing Jars
>  
> CAUTION: External email. Do not click links or open attachments unless
you verify. Send all suspicious email as an attachment to
> Report Spam. [report.spam at nc.gov]
> 
> 
> Hi James,
> 
> Not a complete answer, but something you might want to check on. Your
mineralogy or geology prep labs might have equipment for
> grinding perfectly flat surfaces (for them, in advance of polishing).
If so, they could quickly and easily grind your jar tops
> flat for you. If they don’t have the equipment then they may be able
to point you to someone who does. A vibrating lap
> (https://kingsleynorth.com/16-inch-covington-vibrating-lap.html
>
[https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://kingsleynorth.com/16-inch-covington-vibrating-lap.html__;!!HYmSToo!cYC3fw02i6vOpwFSOFOihSZnnAskFr7aSQRQFKPe4wTf_bXCK9J9zyEa81-x2ZLzL2MyX_FWil_yAo8GUzjBjquo0p_uSA$])
> might be ideal but even a rotating flat lap
>
(https://arrowheadlapidarysupply.com/products/18-rotating-disc-flat-lap-model-18rl/2695/)
>
[https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://arrowheadlapidarysupply.com/products/18-rotating-disc-flat-lap-model-18rl/2695/)*20would__;JQ!!HYmSToo!cYC3fw02i6vOpwFSOFOihSZnnAskFr7aSQRQFKPe4wTf_bXCK9J9zyEa81-x2ZLzL2MyX_FWil_yAo8GUzjBjqvgqfe_0w$]
> would serve.
> 
> Whatever you choose to seal with, the a perfectly flat jar top is
certain to improve the seal.
> 
> Rob
> 
> From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>
[nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of James Maclaine
> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2023 7:09 AM
> To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu [nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu]
> Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Putty For Sealing Jars
> 
>  
> 
> Dear all,
> 
>  
> 
> Happy New Year!
> 
>  
> 
> Hope someone can help with a large jar sealing question.  In the past
we have used a kind of putty (made by Arboseal) to seal
> flat glass plates to the top of some of our largest jars and
containers.  This was especially useful in the case of some of the
> older jars where the top is not completely flat and the putty could
fill in the gaps.  It isn’t an ideal solution (and makes
> opening the jar a bit of a chore) and in some cases the putty has
hardened and cracked but on the whole it has fairly
> effectively slowed down evaporation over several decades.   
> 
>  
> 
> However, in the cases where the old putty has to be replaced I can no
longer find the same brand for sale online, so can anyone
> tell me where I can purchase something similar and reliable that I
could use for this?  Or ideally, let me know of a better way
> of sealing a flat lid on an uneven jar top (please don’t suggest
stretching parafilm over it!). 
> 
>  
> 
> As these are large containers for specimens that would be difficult to
find alternative storage for (see attached), I’d like to
> keep using them if possible.  They would also be prohibitively
expensive to replace.
> 
>  
> 
> Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
> 
>  
> 
> Cheers,
> 
>  
> 
> James
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.eduNhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu
>
https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-lhttps://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
> 
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.orghttp://www.spnhc.org for membership
information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.

--

Tel: +49 (0) 1573 2778729

Web: 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20230113/fae25f20/attachment.html>