*MSCdirect  Is a very large company to company vendor.
They deal in so many tings - but I found sheeting of high density closed
cell Poly.

*
*Use this as a search string :"POLYETHYLENE FOAM SHEETS"*
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/GSDRVSM?PACACHE=000000024862268

Or go to http://www.mscdirect.com and search for the search string.

They are also a large supplier to the various Government buyers.

A 24" x 36" sheet from 1" down to 1/4" thick and in small cut sizes also.


They are a vendor to my company.

Martin

Fabio Moretzsohn wrote:
> Dear all
>
> At the COA 2007 in Portland, I bought some shells at the Silent
> Auctions. Some of them seem to be from old collections, while others
> are apparently more recent. Among them, I bought a Cypraea onyx that
> came in a neat clear plastic box with a blue foam liner, plus another
> layer of a denser, white plastic liner at the bottom. The shell did
> not seem to be in a particularly good condition, but it was a bargain,
> so I ended up bidding on it.
>
> When I came home, I cleaned the shell in warm water and soap, and it
> turned out to be in great condition, very shiny! That is, most of the
> shell is shiny, but the base seems to have been damaged slightly by
> the foam liner. There is no collection data on the label, but by the
> impression in the foam you can tell that this shell has been stored in
> that box for many years. Since the rest of the shell is perfectly
> fine, the damage seems to be from the contact with the foam liner, so
> it is probably not from vapors produced by either liners.
>
> Surely others have seen a similar case of foam liner "disease"
> (decay). Perhaps you would not notice the damage in a shell that is
> not naturally glossy. I wonder how safe (or not) the widely used blue
> foam inserts are for storing shells in the long run. The blue foam
> liner in this case is discolored near and under where the shell was
> stored. It also looks a little different from some of the new ones I
> see in use, so perhaps it is a different material.
>
> Charlie Sturm's nice paper on Archival and Curatorial Methods* (2006)
> mentions foam liners in specimen trays, and recommends polyethylene
> foam, which can be archival. He warns against polyurethane foam (foam
> rubber), which is not archival and will degrade over time, giving off
> acidic vapors. He also discusses the archival nature of plastics, but
> does not does not elaborate further on foam liners.
>
> Speaking of archival foam liners, can anyone recommend a supplier
> (off-list if you don't want to advertise on the list).
>
> I can try to take photos of the shell and liner if anyone is interested.
>
> Thanks,
> Fabio
>
> * Sturm, C.F. 2006. Archival and Curatorial Methods. Pp. 45-57, in
> Sturm, C.F., T.A. Pearce, and A. Valdés (eds.) The Mollusks: A Guide
> to Their Study, Collection, and Preservation. American Malacological
> Society.
>
> -------------------------------------------------
> Fabio Moretzsohn, Ph.D.
> Post Doctoral Research Associate
> Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
> Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
> 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869
> Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5869
> Phone: (361) 825-3230
> Fax: (361) 825-2050
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>

--
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/

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