Hotel Indigo Conservation Update: Conservators at Texas A&M continue their work on the ship remnant

The team at the Conservation Research Lab (CRL) cleaned the last large structural timber and is soaking some of the hull planking in ammonium citrate. Learn more about the process.
Page updated on January 24, 2024 at 11:32 AM
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Conservators at Texas A&M continue their work on the ship remnant

January 2024

Indigo Ship Timbers conservation update January 2024
Planking after soaking in ammonium citrate. The orange residue on the planks is iron that has leached out of the timbers.

Conservators at Texas A&M continue their work on the ship remnant found at the Hotel Indigo Site (44AX229). The team at the Conservation Research Lab (CRL) cleaned the last large structural timber and placed it in a vat of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in October 2023. The team at the CRL also decided to soak some of the hull planking in ammonium citrate one last time to chemically remove more iron from the timbers before moving on to the PEG step of the conservation process. The timbers will first be soaked in a 3% solution of PEG-1000 which will slowly be increased to a concentration of 10% and will eventually be exchanged for a solution of PEG-3350. The numbers 1000 and 3350 refer to the average molecular weight of the PEG, the higher number indicating a greater weight which gives the substance a more solid form.  The PEG solution is expected to reach the 10% concentration threshold at the end of this year.