Project Progress
The first stage of the restoration project; the cleaning and recording of the timbers, was completed in April 2008. The timbers were immersed in ordinary mains water, in a series of large shallow tanks. Small fish, including domestic goldfish and a sturgeon were successfully used to predate the various marine invertebrates that were coincidentally collected when the timbers were salvaged.
The next stage, the conservation of the timbers, which began later in 2008, involved immersing the timbers in polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution for an extended period. Before this began, some of the timbers required treatment with triammonium citrate to remove residual iron residues in the nail holes of the outer hull planking. This unexpected additional phase is expected to add no more than between fifteen and eighteen months to the project.
As of April 2011 some of the first ship timbers are approaching the end of their PEG treatment cycle. After which they will be freeze dried in order to rid them of any excess water still remaining, allowing them to be handled outside of water in which they must currently be kept.
Read more about this topic: Newport Ship
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