Soot on wall painting

Barbara Cerrina <nina [at] digicolor__net> writes

>We need to clean a ceiling painted with tempera that is actually
>covered with a thick lay of soot.

The vulcanised rubber smoke sponge is a product that might provide a
more sensitive treatment to smoke damaged paintings since it is
significantly more pliable and flexible to handle than some of the
other products previously advocated.

The smoke sponge is made of vulcanised rubber with just a trace of
mild soap (less than 30 gms of mild soap to every 500 kilos of
product manufactured) and has its unique pore size and pore
configuration to thank for its action of trapping and removing soot
and dirt from a wide range of substrates.

Vulcanised rubber smoke sponges are being used to treat many
different fire damaged items around the globe including paper and
books. Some book conservators have even used the soft vulcanised
rubber sponges to remove non-active mould growth clusters from cloth
bindings without damaging the covers.

As with any technique or product that one is using one needs to
ensure prior to application that the method of application and as
significantly the product itself is going to be compatible with the
item to be treated.

Further information can be obtained from our offices in Cowley,
Oxford by phoning +44 0-1865-747755 or from our Springfield,
Virginia site on 800-634-6932.

Mark Vine
Conservation Resources
England

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:47
               Distributed: Wednesday, November 25, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-47-003
                                  ***