Treating finds with linseed oil

[hedgehog]

Sometimes as we all know as soon as the find comes out of it's sealed position in the soil for the first few minutes they may look great and then deterioration sets in and the object may begin to crumble.
If I want to arrest this then I just put it in some linseed oil to protect it, this would be frowned upon by some but it seals the object and maintains the detail.
Just a before and after pic really, but i like the results.

[Al.Thepastfinder, ( Alan )]

I'm never sure what to do,  lol yeah the museum people say not too cos in time it will affect it,   though some say its only natural oils  so won't harm it,
 as you say though , it to help seal it off,#
 i used to carry a small tub of vaselene with my to put on straight away anything like that,   and yes,  it helps highlight the detail a lot better,  though it is darker then.

[hedgehog]

I did read at one time that they didn't like it because to conserve them in the future the linseed oil would need to be removed first if they were to be conserved, or if an item had bronze disease (bright green bubbling of the metal) then it would not arrest the development.
I came to the conclusion some years ago that if you donate to a museum and they don't have the money to conserve (expensive!) then they just slowly let the items fall apart.
Am still using a bottle of boiled linseed oil that I bought many years ago.

[Al.Thepastfinder, ( Alan )]

hmmmm i was told that olive oil is good too, more raw natural ingredients,
 hmm make you wonder what to do for the best  don';t it, perhaps i should preserve a bit more, too

[zorro]

i know that a small amount of clear shoe polish works a treat as well

[DIGGA]

WOW  MR HOGG  I NEVER HEARD OF USING LINSEED OIL BEFORE    WHAT A DIFFERENCE   THANKS FOR THE TIP 

[jonny]

Only ever used olive oil before, certainly sounds worth trying, thanks for the tip.

   jonny   

[benny]

On decent but relatively worthless  bronze and copper coins I leave them to dry out, then give them a coat of clear nail varnish. Then I rub it in before it dries to take the glossyness off the varnish. I find this enhances the patina and seals in the metal from damage. The little brush you get in the lid of the varnish is ideal for coating up small objects.

[firepearl]

i use wax for my finds

[Malcolm.mtts]

WD 40 cleans and protects.

[ROMAN STEVE]

thanks for the tip ill
be trying that

[zorro]

Mal are you an area rep for WD 40 ?
you seem to have hundreds of uses for it