Mounting to Sintra or Palight
Does anyone have experience mounting artifacts to Sintra aka Palight? I have never used this PVC sheet material before. This would be in a sealed case, long term exhibit. Backboards and risers are to be made of painted 3/4" Sintra. I just received some samples, and at first look it appears to hold a screw well but not a pressure fit rod. I have concerns. Any advice would be most appreciated.
Best,
Gina
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Pam,
It actually should be mentioned that your conservator's reaction is totally logical. My first reaction to seeing the product in use in 2004 was "Hold it this can't be right"!
I was taught the same thing about good plastics and bad plastics.
Having had the good fortune to work at/for three museums with extensive testing programs in place an equally shocking truth to discover is how often Polyethylene products (especially foams) fail testing miserably!
If you are using "Ethafoam - type" products to rehouse artwork in storage assuming your objects will be safe you should know that "Ethafoam" is like "Kleenex" also. Distributors may tell you that what they sell is the same thing but from their perspective but it often is from our perspective. I had to deliver the bad news to a small museum that the polyethylene foam a medium-sized museum had stockpiled and was using in storage should be reserved for non-storage purposes because it failed testing in such a big way!
Cushioning performance in packing and crating is also an issue with substituted products as cushioning curves really do vary to a surprising degree.