Dirty Bunting

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

Well, there was this girl I knew in High School called ........

Tut-tut. Remember, this is a clean site....more or less....

Is there a military, history or art museum local to you? They sometimes have an in-house specialist that cleans and conserves textiles and the like, or know someone that does. They may be able to recommend some suitable products.

Owen.

[Lang]

Tony

When in doubt listen to the experts. Your cook seems to be on the money with the wool wash done by hand and not in the machine. You can then see what you are up against.

The colours almost certainly will not run, after all the flag was meant to be flown in everything from hot sun to freezing rain including salt spray at sea.

Once you have it clean you can then start investigating specialist stain removal ideas though I fear any ancient rust stains will be there to stay.

Lang

[Mike Cecil]

Email the textiles conservator at the AWM.

She will be able to tell you if it is possible to remove the staining, and if so, with what. But I have the same feeling as Lang: they are there to stay.

Mike