Adhering polyester film to paper

Mark Vine <100436.3447 [at] compuserve__com> writes

> What do people use to stick Mylar or Melinex as it is known here in
> Europe to paper substrates? ...
> Does anyone know of an archivally suitable wet adhesive that could be
> used or have other suggestions.

In the realm of other suggestions there is a type of Mylar called Mylar
J that is specially treated to be more receptive to adhesives than the
Mylar D commonly used for preservation work.  I have recently acquired
Mylar J and have been using it to create a special endsheet construction
that I have been working with.  The Mylar J adheres very well to paper
with the PVA I used for bookbinding and repair.  The difference in
adhesion between the Mylar D and the Mylar J is significant.  Whereas
the Mylar D Will peel cleanly away from paper, leaving the pva behind,
the Mylar J delaminates the paper when pulled away, indicating that the
glue bond is stronger than the paper itself.

As for the archival properties of Mylar J I can only pass on the
information I received from a call to Dupont's mylar technical division.
The person I talked to explained that Mylar J has a thin (measured in
angstroms) acrylic coating which gives the Mylar J its' superior bonding
characteristics.  He further explained that the coating's resistance to
hydrolysis (my chemistry is fuzzy so I'm hoping this sounds right) is
greater than that of the polyester itself.  This represents the
beginning and end of my knowledge of Mylar J.  If anybody on the
DistList can further enlighten me on the archival or non-archival nature
of Mylar J, I would be pleased to hear from them.

Pete Jermann
Preservation Officer
Friedsam Memorial Library
St. Bonaventure University
St. Bonaventure, NY 14778
716-375-2324

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:76
                  Distributed: Sunday, March 19, 1995
                        Message Id: cdl-8-76-004
                                  ***