An Experimental Study of Metal Polishes Applied on Surface Cleaning of Silver Metal Archival Objects

This study, by selecting 3 kinds(Polish T, H, C) of metal polish being frequently used for silver archival objects treatment at present, a polish having excellent conservative property that minimizes damage of silver surface while effectively removing its yellow discolored layer by each using tool was intended to be discovered by comparing performance of tarnish inhibitor, corrosion inhibitor contained in each polish. As a result of analysis, it was confirmed that specimen that was cleaned with cotton swab and lint-free wipe by using Polish C provides not only uniformed surface expression and minimum damage but also removal function of corrosion layer. In addition, even though tarnish inhibition film should be formed after polish treatment, discolored phenomenon is unable to be prevented but among those polishes, Polish C was represented to be most stable against UV and yellowing and it showed relatively better features than that of Polish H and T in terms of hydrophobic, dispersive property. Through this, it is confirmed that Polish C would show the most excellent performance among polishes being used for conserving silver archival objects.