AIC's 45th Annual Meeting

The Oddy test, with its many variations, has been used to determine the suitability of materials for use with museum, archive and library objects. One major variation of the Oddy test has been in the preparation of the metals used for this testing. These variations include different sources and types of metals: using metal foils from chemical manufacturers to metal coupons from jewelers, as well as different polishing methods of the coupons prior to exposure to tested materials. This research examines differences in polishing of these metals, and how those difference impact the results of the Oddy test. This is done by examining different polishing methods and their effects on the coupons by light microscopy and atomic force microscopy both before and after testing.