Big Outgassing Problems Of Old Plastics

As for the air quality, I would suggest mitigation by looking up "Activated Charcoal" on YT, you should find plenty of corroborating evidence to enable easy mass production and preparation of large surface area DIY filters for the positive pressure feeding of the air around the vault. Try one unit, 1 week later, after completion, add a second. With a simple calculation of the rate of feed, the quantity of outgassing will soon be possible to understand as the air quality improves. A second calculation of the capacity of the activated carbon will provide you with a reasonable assessment of the duration of each filter you have made and a working schedule to maintain the good air in your archive. If you have permission from the landlord to install a powered vent to the outside, during favourable weather conditions, the filters can be conserved. A third calculation of the power requirements of the air feeds to your active filters will offer a realistic balance between the use of either of the two systems. Alternatively, if the archive can be managed in sealed containers, a filter lid

Hi! I also fight with the decomposing plastics in old cars... Even if they still look ok and function, they have a sour milk smell that does not go well with new upholstery and carpet. Seems like white plastics, from the early postwar era, are the biggest offenders. Regarding nitro lacquer recordings: If you have a terminally damaged one, you can recycle them back into nitro lacquer paint by dissolving them in lacquer thinner... might make a fun experiment to paint a guitar with paint made from a piece of music! Love the show; all the best from here!

Cold War Motors

P.S. In case this is helpful. My old Weller soldering iron got a trip from puke green back to its beautiful Robin egg blue color back when the procedure came out about the oxyclean + hairstylist peroxide thing came out. Well, not only did my Weller become robin's egg blue again but it also lost the stinky old plastic smell. Eight years later, it still lacks any smell.

Jan Snyder-Ellerman

My projects are just a hobby, meaning I do just one at a time. So, when I get a stinky one, I dismantle it outside and leave it. Everything that can be gets a good cleaning, dish soap & water. If there's labels I want to keep, if I can't get them off, I photograph them & reproduce later. Stinky parts stay outside in the open air or in the garage until tolerable while I work on the mechanics, electrics, and or electronics. Final reassembly happens only when it's stinky no more, weeks, months, however long it takes. Thanks for your vids. I know they are a labor of love with the operative word being labor. ;-)

Jan Snyder-Ellerman

Sorry Fran I'm no help at all here, I didn't even know about the outgassing problem, I guess I've just never come across it.

Dr Andy Hill

Baking soda has done well to get rid of odors for me. Perhaps along with some activated charcoal, they could do the trick.

Rocco Rizzo

I wonder if the Smithsonian bunch would have anything to suggest?

I wonder if a jar of activated charcoal could absorb those fumes. Similarly, I use tubs of desiccant to control humidity in storage containers. I get them at the dollar store and are just as good as higher priced.

A post wasn't what I expected when I hit return. Anyway, look up sites for "vinegar syndrome", there will be conservation notes from several Federal museums (parks is one), or in Canada from the Canadian Conservation Institute - at least we use the same lingo. I would highly suggest you reach out to large city museums, especially technology themed ones. It will probably come down to the hard decision of what is reasonable for you to personally save or store better and what someone else might be able to store better, meaning it has to be let go. It's natural decay, so you can only slow it, not stop it.

I once had a coworker who had similar sensitivities, and things that out-gassed were stored in plastic bins that had a hole (about the size of a dryer vent) punched in the end (if the containers had to stack) or the top (if the containers had to nest) for a round carbon foam filter. The holder was two pieces that screwed together and sealed against the bin. The ones we had back then were aluminum, but I'd bet it would be a fast design in Fusion 360 and a quick 3D print. We cut our own filters from large sheets of 1/4" carbon foam, with multiple layers used (2-4, not sure). The goal was to avoid a puff of fumes when opening the bin while also letting the items out-gas naturally. From what I could tell it worked well enough. No need for a second hole or a fan. Temperature accelerates out-gassing, so placing the filtered container in the sun over the weekend helped when needing to work with new parts sooner rather than later. Edit: We changed all the filters whenever he smelled anything, or annually anyway.

BobC

Not an expert, but have worked in the field with them. Out gassing is going to happen so it's a matter of slowing it and controlling. Closed (micro environments) are bad, bags more so than bins. Ideally you would only store in food grade containers or bags, it will lessen the damage from the bags. Drilling holes might help, but you won't get that much air flow. Temperature is the biggest culprit. Nitrocellulose film stock can be stored in commercial freezers after digitization. Dimensional items (aka French Ivory) is usually just stored in the open on shelves, as the danger is the nitric acid build up, with as much air flow as possible.