Lead in graveyards

Paul Harrison asked about adhesives to reattach lead letters to
marble gravestones (in hot, humid conditions).  I would consider
Sintolit two-part polyester adhesive which we have used on limestone
with good results. It is used by marble masons and was made by
Raccanello. However, some stone masons do not like to use polyester
out of doors in moist situations, preferring epoxies. It might be
worth testing the epoxy adhesive made by Repow, a company based in
China <URL:http://www.repow.en.alibaba.com>, which they say fixes
metal studs to stone, to see if it causes any problems when applied
to clean fresh lead sheet. If you are concerned about reversibility,
a fine coating of Paraloid B72 applied to the surfaces first, would
provide a barrier layer. Best wishes,

Helena Jaeschke
Conservation Development Officer
+44 1392 665951
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
Queen Street
Exeter EX4 3RX


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:5
                  Distributed: Saturday, July 9, 2005
                        Message Id: cdl-19-5-004
                                  ***