Ammo Box Collecting
What is the best way to wrap or preserve ammunition boxes so they do not get soiled or get more damage to them? What type of wrapping should be used?
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"Best way" would be to put them in an oxygen free, humidity-and-temperature controlled, sealed environment that is either dark or at least protected from UV light.
That will prevent the ink from fading and help slow down the rate of the paper degrading. All else being equal, lower temperature is better than higher.
Imagine how the Smithsonian stores the US constitution.
Now, practically speaking, a GOOD way would be to put them in an metallic ammo box with some desicant and leave them there. That way they won't be exposed to oxygen, light, dirt, or mechanical damage.0 -
Saran wrap and then hair drier to shrink it tighter. That's the cheap way. It protects from light
dust and worst of all, friction. If you have some $150 boxes then you need to talk to more of an expert than me.0 -
Actually if you have old paper or card board ammo boxes that your wanting to preserve, you might be smart to actually call around a local museum or even the smithsonian itself and ask. Maybe hit up a local library on preservation and restoration techniques on photographs and paintings etc.
A technique I use on photographs might help. When a client pays me the big bucks to have a portrait done and a large mural made, they don't want it to fade after a year like some cheap large inkjet poster print from cosco. In fact after I have the print made I have it airbrushed and backed, then I spray a very very very thick acrylic coat on it. Its then mounted in a back and matte and framed to bare air with no glass in front of it.
The key being, the acrylic coat, which is clear, non-gloss. It protects from UV which will cause the printing on the ammo boxes to fade, and will seal them from humidity and oxygen. Not that it will last forever.
I recommend a chemical spray on coat as opposed to a vacuum sealed bag or even a laminate because it gets as close as possible to the actual surface, way in all the nooks and crannies where the others can't. And these are places that hold liquid air, which will have micro amounts of water vapor.
The thing is, don't just buy an acrylic spray at the hardware store and start spraying your valuable boxes. I would probably do a little bit of trial and error on some plain every day available ammo boxes first. The sprays I use are available thru B&H photo and Adorama but are specifically marketed for photographic preservation and may or may not necessarily be the best choice for you. There are also acrylic sprays available at most local art supply stores and hobby stores that may be marketed for scrap booking, paintings, and plastic painted models.0 -
Hate to disagree, but, spraying a rare paper object with anything is contrary to everything I have ever read on the subject. There is a book out on how to keep anything forever buy a guy who worked for the Smithsoinian, nothing there about anything like that. No light, protect from dirt and dust, proper temp and humidity, possibly wrap with appropriate material. Yes. Spray with acrylic. No. Might be great for a picture, but not for an antique. 0 -
Maybe you could fashion an air tight display case and create a vacuum or fill it with a neutral dry gas also? Not that far fetched.
One thing I forgot to mention and this is standard with preserving anything paper, like old news papers, and comic books, is that you have to store them against acid free surfaces. I know old newspapers have to be sprayed with an acid neutralizer to keep them from yellowing.0 -
I use the shrink wrap designed for temporary storm windows and clear packing tape, I also pack with styrofoam packing peanuts to keep from crushing. It also helps if you do not have a full box and keeps them from rattling around. 0 -
I have also used the storm window material. Heat gun shrinks it up nicely. No problems so far but do not know about long term. I am thinking keeping them out of sunlight or any light for that matter would be more important. Wraping will definately keep them clean. 0
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