Cellugel

Angela F. Piercy <afp048t [at] mail__smsu__edu> writes

>Has anyone ever tried this product or know what the pros and cons
>might be? I would be using this on leather bindings that are
>deteriorating, items where my only other option is boxing.  It is
>available from Gaylord, and the description makes it sound great:
>"Will not darken, discolor, or leave film on the surface of leather.
>Developed and used by professional conservators to treat
>deteriorating, powdery leather (red rot)..."  Is this something I
>should avoid, like other leather treatments we've tried in the past?

It may be interesting to know that quite recently we also began to
use this product in the conservation of very deteriorating leather
bookbindings, specifically in those cases where we did not want to
use impregnating agents like the ones based on polyurethane resin,
as these tend to darken the leather in some cases.

We found Cellugel to perform excellently, giving the powdery leather
a nice bond without darkening it. This wasn't too much of a surprise
though since Cellugel is of course, as the label states, a solution
of hydroxypropylcellulose (Klucel G) in isopropanol. In the past we
have made solutions of Klucel G in ethanol and acetone for the same
purpose.

To summarize, I think Cellugel can be safely used and with very good
results.

Ko van de Watering
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Conservation Department
The Hague
The Netherlands


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:2
                  Distributed: Thursday, June 29, 2000
                        Message Id: cdl-14-2-011
                                  ***