Paper stained by windex

Daria Keynan <dkeynan [at] aol__com> writes

>I have an Ellsworth Kelly print which was stained with Windex  (a
>lot of it, bright blue)

We had a stain which the owner believed was created by some cleaning
fluid, perhaps Windex.  The stain moved in diacetone alcohol but
only slightly on the suction table.  I was convinced that we had
exhausted all solvent combinations and the the staining was
complexed in the paper to some component making it insoluble. Since
we were unsure of the staining source, our tests with Windex and
experimental papers did not provide reproducible results nor similar
stain morphology or behavior.  I suggest you attempt to reproduce
the stain with Windex and a similar paper and then work back to a
solvent system.  Dye components can be decolorized, if you can
eliminate the realm of possibilities by tests you can reach a
reasonable solution.

Niccolo Caldararo
Director and Chief Conservator
Conservation Art Service

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:43
                Distributed: Thursday, November 12, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-43-007
                                  ***