AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

The degradation mechanisms of natural rubber have been studied extensively. At present, there is no known protocol for reversing, or even stopping, the degradation. This problematic material is prevalent throughout the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) collection. One collection subset of concern is the foam rubber face pads on aviator goggles, dating from the 1910’s to the 1970’s. NASM has over 80 artifacts that fall into this subset. As foam rubber ages, it frequently requires intervention if loss of original material is to be avoided. Such interventions typically require introducing adhesives but the long-term impacts of using adhesives on degraded rubber are underexplored. This research project was designed to investigate the impacts of consolidating degraded natural rubber. The first phase of the project establishes a working definition of “natural rubber” and “consolidation” based on an extensive literature review. The second phase of the project includes testing of a variety of consolidants on foamed rubber samples. Currently, tests are being conducted to determine the efficacy of mixtures of isinglass and methylcellulose for use as a consolidant in both liquid and foam applications. The final phase of this project will include treatment of foam rubber face pads from multiple pairs of NASM’s aviator goggles. While exploratory, the treatment is backed by extensive research and testing and aims to offer a viable protocol for consolidation of degraded rubber.