Original Wavy Glass (Steps 2 & 8)

2. Label "top front" of glass and mat.

This step is important as the historic glass has often warped and will fit the frame better in the original position.

8. Clean glass and replace in frame.

We consulted Katherine Eirk for advice about how to clean the original wavy glass. She noted that glass is more porous than one would think. ‘Crizzled’ or 'weeping' glass should not be placed in contact with other art objects.

Katherine Eirk's advice was to use washed clean cotton cloth, cloth diapers or cheesecloth and a mixture of deionized or distilled water and 'grain alcohol'. Do not use "laboratory' ethanol because it is not purely ethyl alcohol but has additives. The mixture may be 50/50 or whatever works best. If there is a stubborn accretion use precipitated calcium carbonate in solution with the mixture. Put as small amount on the tip of a cotton swab and work only the problem area. Katherine also suggested that one could rub and buff the glass. She advised against tap water as it may contain chlorine. She said paper towels might contain formaldehyde. Also do not use antistatic cleaning cloths. We found that washed t‑shirt cotton knit cloths worked very well. We used 200 proof ethyl alcohol ACS/USP grade in our cleaning solution.