RESUMEN
The handling of cultural heritage objects has become a highly debated topic in the last decade. The work and outcomes described in this paper are aimed to provide objective data to assist in making appropriate decisions as to whether or not wearing gloves is appropriate in a given situation. The forensic fingermark development techniques of 1,2-indandione and single metal deposition II were used to investigate the efficacy of handwashing and glove use to improve the information available when deciding whether to use gloves when handling paper objects. It was found that fingermarks did not permeate through polymer glove types but could through cotton gloves. It was also shown that the amounts of observable fingermark residues were greater 5 min after handwashing than if handwashing had not occurred, undermining previous arguments for not wearing gloves if hands could be washed before object handling.
RESUMEN
This paper presents a study into the chemical changes occurring within automotive clear coats as a result of environmental weathering, and their potential effect upon the characterisation of samples using infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometric modelling. Testing of three samples, collected from separate vehicles, exposed to the outside environment revealed no changes in model predictions over a 175 day period; however, incorrect predictions were observed following 435 days of exposure. Inspection of the corresponding infrared spectra revealed that these changes were likely due to the hydrolysis and photodegradation of polymer chains present in the clear coat, which were not observed in samples stored away from the outside environment over a one-year period. Analysis of previously weathered samples using synchrotron infrared microscopy found these changes occurred in a top-down fashion rather than within the bulk of the clear coat. This indicates that although weathering may affect the surface characterisation of clear coats over time, the targeting of deeper portions of the clear coat layer may still provide useful information as to the identity of the vehicle.