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Treatment; 04 Jul 2013; Clean metal surface details (remove excess wax and dirt accretions). Check mobility of door (liaise with Organics conservator) and small plate on corner. Secure if necessary.; Organics; Metals

Reason: Storage
Description: Dirt and wax build-up was softened with White Spirit (composition variable - petroleum distillate) but very little could be removed in this way. Therefore a sharp scalpel and a pin in a pin vice were used to carefully pick this out of the engraving - carried out under an optical microscope at a magnification of around 30-40x. Where corrosion was present within the engraving this was removed as far as possible by the above method. Where accretions were on the surface they were also softened with White Spirit (composition variable - petroleum distillate) and carefully scraped away with a scalpel under magnification so as not to damaged the gilding beneath. As the surface within the engraving is very rough it was impossible to remove all of the wax and dirt built-up, this means that the engraved lines still appear quite dark in many places. Where thicker engraved lines were present an original engraved line was visible in the centre which had later been widened. The loose plate that had been held down with a sheet of adhesive in the previous treatment became loose again very quickly. Therefore to hold it in place more firmly a new nail was made from copper wire and painted to match. Small wooden wedges were placed in the hole first to hold the nail in place and stop the plate moving.
Details: Treatment