About this project
BRH has been contracted to preserve and restore the historic Sheridan Gates that will be reinstalled in Arlington National Cemetery.
ANC will be adding 49 additional acres to the current 624 acre footprint . This huge project will involve rerouting roadways and infrastructure and we're excited to be playing a small part of this larger endeavor.
The Sheridan Gates
What we did
The gates were in storage for several decades and have heavily corroded. The expansion and jacking of corrosion has resulted in rivets heads being sheared off. Numerous paint applications have hidden the once gilded lettering and stacked rosettes. Many decorative elements are missing and are being reproduced.
Our conservators and technicians produced a detailed 12 page grid/map which documented and labeled each section and element of the gate. Several dozen of sample were collected for microscopy to identify where the gold leaf had been applied. A lead converting stripping gel was applied to the paint to make the removal of old coatings a non-hazardous process. The thick layers of old paint were then vapor blasted using low pressure and ammine additives were added to prevent flash rusting. All surfaces profiles were specified and prepped using NACE standards. The rosettes, and panels were removed in order to ensure that no corrosion remains before a new 4 stage paint system is applied. We are currently working on the fabrication of the missing components and will update this post after the completion of the project.