Switched from brushing sediment off pottery to using a soft air blower

I used to clean every shard I dug up with a soft brush and a little water. It worked fine for years but I kept worrying about damaging fragile paint or surface details. About six months ago at a dig near Santa Fe, I watched a older volunteer gently blast away dirt with a little rubber air blower. No water, no touching the surface at all. It felt weird at first cause I was so used to brushing. Now I only use the brush for really stuck-on dirt and the air blower for everything else. Has anyone else made a similar switch or found a tool that changed how they handle fragile finds?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaelw2612d ago

Totally agree getting rid of unnecessary contact is the real upgrade here.

leo56712d ago

Start noticing how often we do things the HARD way just because that's how we've always done it. My buddy spent years washing his car with a bucket and sponge, scrubbing every inch, getting frustrated with micro scratches. Then he watched a guy use a foam cannon and rinse it off with almost no contact, same concept as your air blower. Now he sprays it down and barely touches the paint. It's wild how we get stuck in these ruts thinking gentle pressure is the only way when sometimes LESS contact does a better job. Your pottery thing sounds exactly like that, you were being careful with the brush but the brush itself was probably doing more damage than you realized.