From lead QAR Conservator, Wendy Welsh, "Cannon 25, our only bronze gun which has a wrought iron yoke, is now out of electrolytic treatment, dry and looking good!!!!!! Super Super DAY......"- Congrats to the Conservation Team!
Cannon 25 encased in concretion....
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/QARconcretion.jpg)
Cannon 25 after being excavated from concretion, prior to electrolytic treatment of wrought iron yoke....
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/QAR4.jpg)
Cannon 25 wrought iron yoke prior to acidic treatment....
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/QAR5.jpg)
Cannon 25 drying out....
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/QAR3.jpg)
That is an amazing transformation! :o
All the work that went into cleaning and restoring it really payed off!!! ;D
That is amazing! Thanks for sharing.
I wonder if the people who put so many hours into restoring this cannon are any more amazed than I am at the level of detailing on this bronze cannon. It is a weapon and a work of art.
To restore a cannon, it is soaked in a tank of a clear chemical solution while undergoing electrolysis to desalinate the cast iron. I imagine the same process would go for the bronze one.
The process takes from two to five years to remove the concretion which is a build-up of barnacles, shells, sand and anything else that fuses to the artifacts.
One cannon was so encrusted it was nicknamed 'Baby Ruth'!
Pirates Magazine #11 had an EXCELLENT article on the conservation and its processes.
Well I have always been fascinated with this stuff. For 26 years now they have been doing it on the stuff from the Titanic. It is so impressive after all these years to see stuff that sat at the bottom of the ocean. Very impressive indeed.