Paintings on glass

Gary Saretzky <saretzky [at] rci__rutgers__edu> writes

>A colleague has miniature painted portraits on glass in cases
>similar to those used for daguerreotype, ca. 1850, with flakes of
>paint separated from the glass.  Does anyone have a recommendation
>for readhering them?  In case it matters, the images are colored and
>the glass is flat.

This past year our lab was faced with about ten flaking reverse
glass panels on clocks being treated for an exhibit.  After calling
around and getting some leads someone suggested the Aquazols
(available in several different molecular weights from Conservator's
Emporium).  I decided to try the 50 and the 200 and do some tests. I
also talked with Richard Wolbers, who had done some aging tests and
was very pleased with the results.  I did end up using the Aquazol
50 for its working properties and was very pleased with the results.
I am still cautious about using this material because it sounds
almost too perfect--water soluble, same refractive index as glass,
good aging properties.  We will see only over time how our glass
panels hold up. It does take a while to dry and seems to remain
tacky for a long time.  Maybe this will actually help to keep the
paint on.  While I wouldn't use heat to set the paint down on glass,
Richard said that it could be used that way as well.

Beth Richwine
Objects Conservator, National Museum of American History

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:34
                 Distributed: Sunday, December 12, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-34-002
                                  ***