A Very Good Start

Janelle Blucher and Sue Brian had a fantastic day yesterday beginning the removal of the surface coatings on our Bounty cannon. The cannon is undergoing conservation treatment and the first step was to use Kwik Strip to remove Kephos primer, F & T Imperite 390 and polyurethane which were applied in the 1980s at the Western Australian Maritime Museum.

Until they began applying the Kwik Strip and then brushing and washing of the coating, it was not clear how long this would take but we had set aside a week to do the job. However progress was so good yesterday that Janelle is confident they will have the coating off by this afternoon. After the coating has been removed she will begin removing surface corrosion. The barrel of the gun is the most difficult to assess. As the barrel goes to the touch-hole region which is 1.5 metres from the opening, it is pretty difficult being able to see all the way up. Images of what they find will be sent to Karina Acton at International Conservation Services and she will provide advice on the best way to progress.

Our photos show the cannon with the Kwik Strip applied and progressively being scraped and washed off.