Mylar

Furnishing fabric
MFA# 2001.133

Description

Oil and graphite on mylar
MFA# 2002.683

[DuPont Teijin Films, Hopewell, VA] A registered trademark for a series of optically clear, colorless, thermoplastic Polyester films. First introduced in the early 1950s, Mylar® is composed of polyethylene terephthalate. It is a biaxially oriented film that is chemically inert and dimensionally stable. Mylar is an effective barrier to moisture, oil and grease. It has been used for lamination, coating, embossing, printing, and dyeing. Mylar has been also used for heat seal packaging. Mylar® type D sheets are uncoated and have been used for enclosing photographs and coins as well as for making photocorners.

Note: Mylar® type D sheets were discontinued September 2001 by DuPont.

Rolls of Mylar film

Synonyms and Related Terms

PET; Mylar [Du Pont]; Hostaphan [Mitsubishi]; Claryl [Toray]; 3M Polyester [3M]; Questar {Filmquest]; polyesterr; polyethylene terephthalate; tereftalato de polietileno (Esp.)

Applications

Barrier films
Interleaving and encapsulation
Transparent windows in storage boxes
Heat-sealed packaging
Lamination
Printing

Personal Risks

Difficult to ignite.
Burns with a shiny, yellow-orange, sooty flame. Self-extinguishing.
Polymer Plastics: [Safety Data Sheets]

Physical and Chemical Properties

Resistant to cold acids, weak alkalis, bleach and most organic solvents. Degrades in strong alkalis, strong hot acids, cresol.
For a 1 mil film: Oxygen transmission = 19-32 ml/m2d; Water vapor transmission = 45-60 g/m2d;

Melting Point	250-260 C
Density	1.38 g/ml
Refractive Index	1.54, 1.72

Resources and Citations

Jean Tetreault Products Used in Preventive Conservation CCI, December 2017. Link
DuPont Teijin: [Films Database]
Rachael Perkins Arenstein, Lisa Goldberg, and Eugenie Milroy, ‘Support and Rehousing for Collection Storage’ In ‘Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage’ Lisa Elkin and Christopher A. Norris (eds.), Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, New York. 2019.
G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 625
Marjorie Shelley, The Care and Handling of Art Objects, The Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1987
Caring for your Collections, Arthur W Schulz (ed.), Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , New York, 1992
Pam Hatchfield, Pollutants in the Museum Environment, Archetype Press, London, 2002
Marjory L. Joseph, Introductory Textile Science, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Fort Worth, TX, 1986
Identification of Textile Materials, The Textile Institute, Manchester, England, 1985
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mylar (Accessed Sept. 10, 2005)
Teri Hensick, contributed information, 1998