Preserving bricks

Jonathan Farley asked for consolidation advice for a crumbling
Victorian brick.

We have found that a 5 - 15% solution of Paraloid B72 (weight/vol)
in acetone works well on dry crumbling archaeological bricks.  The
solution is applied with a pipette until the area is saturated and
the object is then placed in a sealed acetone-proof container (eg a
polythene box or double bag) overnight. This allows the consolidant
to continue penetrating without leaving a darkened surface. This
treatment can be repeated several times until the  weak area is
sufficiently strengthened, allowing the resin to harden by
evaporation of the solvent between applications.  Any excess
consolidant can then be removed from the surface by careful swabbing
with acetone. Hope this helps. Though there never really was a 221b
was there ?

Helena Jaeschke

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:71
                 Distributed: Monday, February 10, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-71-003
                                  ***