Urea

I have heard of an application of urea on paper object for
removal/softening of animal glue. I was told that it was actually
used on paper in a library conservation lab in Germany more than 10
years ago.

Urea is miscible with water and ethanol and because of its high
solubility it is said to be able to wash off with ease. I have so far
found some information on the usage of urea on parchment to soften
the hardness. However,I could not obtain any articles on urea with
usage or recipe for paper objects. I am not very sure if it can be
completely removed without any remaining in the sheet after the
treatment and about side effects and a long-term effect on paper and
writing/painting materials. Could anyone suggest any articles or
practical experience using urea?

Masami Sakamoto
Private paper conservator
4-30-2-325 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0051, Japan
+81-3-3712-4379 (phone/fax)

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:21
               Distributed: Thursday, September 23, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-21-010
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