Elvace

Notes from a phone call 12/3/92 with Dick Boyd of Swift Adhesives:

Reichold is a company that polymerizes; makes polymers. Basically, they
supply stuff in "tank wagon" quantities to companies that work with it
further.

Swift is now owned by Reichold (since 1985). Swift gets polymers from
Reichold and prepares them into products such as adhesives.

As a substitute for Elvace 40704, which is no longer made, Swift says
that some conservators are trying Swift Adhesive 45675 CX. Boyd calls
this a "VAE": vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer. He says that "EVA" is
also used sometimes to describe it, but that EVA is incorrect
nomenclature.

Boyd says that quite a few people in paper conservation are testing
Swift 45675 CX. He stresses that Swift does not recommend it or claim
that it has any of the properties we might be looking for. Some of those
who have been working with it are: Deborah Bede, MFA Boston Diane
Stalker, Preservation Library, SUNY Stony Brook Ellen Pruett (?? can't
read my scribble now!), MOMA, NYC Linda Stiber, Library of Congress
Conservation Office Nellie Ballafoot, Paper Star Assoc., Ossining NY
Syracuse University (he doesn't know what section)

Swift isn't really interested in selling small quantities and would
prefer that someone buy their minimum lot of it and tap it out to small
customers. He considers, for example, a 5-gallon "pail" an
inconveniently small quantity, and if you insisted on buying this
quantity from Swift, they would charge you >$200.

Boyd subsequently sent me a Product Data Sheet and a Material Safety
Data Sheet for Swift Adhesive 45675 CX. His cover letter said, "I hope
this information is sufficient to make a decision <regarding the
suitability of Swift 45675 CX to replace Elvace 40704>. If not, please
let me know and I will be pleased to send a quart sample for your
evaluation."

Contact information:
R. K. Boyd, Director of Sales & Marketing Administration
Swift Adhesives, Inc.
3100 Woodcreek Drive / P. O. Box 1546
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Telephone 708/971-6800, Fax 708/971-2360

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 6:35
                 Distributed: Thursday, January 7, 1993
                        Message Id: cdl-6-35-003
                                  ***