Connecting to Collections Care

The exhibit team has come to me with an interesting question. They would like to know if any of the expandable spray foams are acceptable for use with artifacts? they would like to use it under fosshape as it needs to be supported underneath it's hollow shell. They usually use a combination of armature and batting, but they would like to explore more options and were wondering if a spray foam would be a viable option for support, providing a more solid support than batting. 

Is there anyone that has explored this option of using spray foam. I have been looking into the SDS sheets of some spray foams and have not had any luck on finding anything that would be safe to use long term. 

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Heather Doyle
Museum Conservation Specialist
Montana Historical Society
Helena MT
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I haven't come across this idea with mounts, but it has been part of the discussion of fine art packing for a while.   The materials are generally pretty toxic and off-gas badly (including a lot of heat from the expansion).   You might want to read some of the discussion on the PACCIN Forum on the subject.   Here's one from 2017: Sprayfoam cavity fill...at thing?

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Janice Klein
Executive Director
Phoenix AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2024 11:08
From: Heather Doyle
Subject: Spray Foam in Mounts

The exhibit team has come to me with an interesting question. They would like to know if any of the expandable spray foams are acceptable for use with artifacts? they would like to use it under fosshape as it needs to be supported underneath it's hollow shell. They usually use a combination of armature and batting, but they would like to explore more options and were wondering if a spray foam would be a viable option for support, providing a more solid support than batting. 

Is there anyone that has explored this option of using spray foam. I have been looking into the SDS sheets of some spray foams and have not had any luck on finding anything that would be safe to use long term. 

------------------------------
Heather Doyle
Museum Conservation Specialist
Montana Historical Society
Helena MT
------------------------------

Hi Heather! 

I'm Maddie, the C2C Care Monitor for this week. I think Janice is spot-on in suggesting you consult PACCIN. Spray foams are usually polyurethanes, which, as she mentioned, can off gass and cause other issues. Another resource I might recommend to you is the Materials Testing Database from the AIC Materials Testing Group. A quick search of their database shows that most of the spray foams scored "Unsuitable" on the Oddy test. 

Best, 

Maddie 

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C2CC Monitor
Madeline Cooper
Associate Preventive Conservator
Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts
Philadelphia PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2024 11:08
From: Heather Doyle
Subject: Spray Foam in Mounts

The exhibit team has come to me with an interesting question. They would like to know if any of the expandable spray foams are acceptable for use with artifacts? they would like to use it under fosshape as it needs to be supported underneath it's hollow shell. They usually use a combination of armature and batting, but they would like to explore more options and were wondering if a spray foam would be a viable option for support, providing a more solid support than batting. 

Is there anyone that has explored this option of using spray foam. I have been looking into the SDS sheets of some spray foams and have not had any luck on finding anything that would be safe to use long term. 

------------------------------
Heather Doyle
Museum Conservation Specialist
Montana Historical Society
Helena MT
------------------------------

Hi Heather,

Sorry for the late reply, I'm just seeing this after the holiday week.

I think the idea of supporting a Fosshape mount with expanding foam is really innovative and interesting. It is such a simple idea but in all my time doing mounts and being engaged with the mountmaking community, I'm not aware of this specific solution being discussed. Sadly I don't know of any expanding foams that would be appropriate and pass Oddy testing or other accelerated aging tests. I have always used carved ethafoam to provide strategic reinforcement for Fosshape mounts but doing so is time consuming and negates the time savings of using Fosshape. I would recommend you pose this query to the International Mountmakers Forum and see if you can get other people looking at this problem. 

The one other thought I had when reading this is wondering if the interior of the Fosshape form could be painted and stiffened with an epoxy resin? Epoxies, due to the nature of their curing, tend to be very neutral and stable, and thus acceptable in exhibit situations. It could stiffen the Fosshape as it would fiberglass or other composite structures. 

The main source of materials safety data is the AIC Wiki Materials Testing page. It can be difficult to navigate but is our best source. The Results Page leads to searchable testing data.

Good luck! I look forward to hearing about your continuing research on this.

Jamie

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[Jamie] [Hascall]
[Mountmaker]
[Hascall Consulting LLC]
[Seattle] [Washington]
[206-954-4141]
[Mountmakingfocus.com]
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2024 11:08
From: Heather Doyle
Subject: Spray Foam in Mounts

The exhibit team has come to me with an interesting question. They would like to know if any of the expandable spray foams are acceptable for use with artifacts? they would like to use it under fosshape as it needs to be supported underneath it's hollow shell. They usually use a combination of armature and batting, but they would like to explore more options and were wondering if a spray foam would be a viable option for support, providing a more solid support than batting. 

Is there anyone that has explored this option of using spray foam. I have been looking into the SDS sheets of some spray foams and have not had any luck on finding anything that would be safe to use long term. 

------------------------------
Heather Doyle
Museum Conservation Specialist
Montana Historical Society
Helena MT
------------------------------