oscarmurray•11d agoMost Upvoted

That $50 artifact cleaning kit I bought off a museum supply site

I dropped $50 on a proper cleaning kit from a museum supply place back in 2018. Thought it would save me time scrubbing old pottery sherds with a toothbrush. Turned out the little bamboo tools and soft brushes were way too gentle for the crusted on dirt I deal with in field finds. Has anyone else found a cheap workaround for cleaning field specimens without damaging them?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_king11d ago

That "museum supply" kit was actually more for display artifacts, not the tough cleaning you need for field finds.

jason1111d ago

Did you try letting the dirt dry out a bit more before going at it? I've found that if the crust is super thick, a few hours in the sun makes it crack off way easier without needing to scrub hard. For the stubborn stuff, I just use a wooden toothpick and tap lightly with a small hammer or rock, it doesn't scratch the surface like metal tools do. A soft paintbrush from the dollar store works fine for dusting off the loose bits too, no need for fancy bristles. Just go slow and check what you're doing every few taps, that's saved me a lot of ruined pieces over the years.