Dirt, Stains, and Grime, Oh My! Conserving Captain Midnight #19. Part 5: Betaine Results - SUCCESS!

A biological cleaning agent for removing mold stains from paper artifacts: https://heritagesciencejournal.spring...

According to the paper, Betaine has “superior deacidification, anti-acidification, anti-aging, and reinforcement capabilities, which can provide extra support to the fibrous structure in addition to cleaning the paper materials.”

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Dirt, Stains, and Grime, Oh My! Conserving Captain Midnight #19. Part 5: Betaine Results - SUCCESS!
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This final episode of experimenting with Betaine shows it needs to be embedded in the wraps at its maximum suggested concentration (7%) to increase their tensile strength.

Materials:

Betaine, anhydrous
Water
Scale

Methods: after washing in CaOH2 for 2 min, the Betaine was reapplied with a brush and allowed to permeate. The wraps were then dried overnight.

Discussion:

Treated wraps showed noticeable increase in tensile strength and appeared stronger compared to untreated wraps without any effect of the paper pliability.

A prior upload (Part 4 of conserving Captain Midnight #19) used two applications of Betaine, which wasn’t needed. Based on the principle of maintaining the original appearance of the paper with minimal conservation intervention, Betaine may be used in cases when the tensile strength of paper has considerably waned.
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Also check out these great comic book conservation channels and experts:

Jerry Jitterbug is perhaps the most watched and skilled of comic book conservators. His work is equivalent to magic and is about the only one who’s doing Leaf Casting on YouTube using a suction table. Please watch Jerry’s channel at:    / @jerrythejitterbugcomicbook4098  

Dr. Paul Kosnik provides scientifically proven methods for comic book conservation and has a live show every Sunday night on Conservation. His cohosts are Phantom Phill and Captain Larry. Check Dr. Paul out at Liberty Hill Comics:    / @drpaulkosnik  

Captain Larry Littlepage has an excellent library of techniques into conservation. He recently built a suction station and started leaf casting. Check Larry out at Flying L Comics:    / @flyinglcomics