Microballoon mixture for wood

Denise Troughton <denise.troughton [at]
    conservation-by-design__co__uk> writes

>Eugenia Stamatopoulou <stamatopoulou [at] deste__gr> writes
>
>>This query is posted on behalf of Maria Filipoussi
>>
>>    Does anybody have information about epoxy resin/phenolic
>>    microballoons mixture as a filler for wood objects? I am looking
>>    for a commercial brand name and suppliers in Europe.
>
>West Systems is the trade name of a marine epoxy resin with option
>of microballoons - check with your local chandlery or marina (used
>on repair and restoration of wooden boats)

I would like to address my reservations with the recommendations
mentioning Abatron and West Systems. Neither of these epoxies are
suitable for wooden object repair. They are too hard and
irreversible. They are frequently used in an architectural wood
repair scenario, but research shows that they are very sensitive to
UV and have a tendency to react to environmental conditions by
swelling or shrinking.

There used to be a product out of Holland called Advanced Repair
Technologies (which is now available in the US), but this too is
designed for the repair of architectural wood and is too hard for
objects, as well.

Other options to consider other than microballoons: paper pulp or
cellulose powder mixed with a reversible adhesive (such as CMC) into
a very thick paste. One product that comes to mind as a gap-filling
flexible epoxy is Milliput. Although it's often used for stone, it
can work well for wood sometimes, too.

Lori Arnold
President
Arnold Wood Conservation, LLC
1822 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia PA 19130
215-763-3120


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:46
                 Distributed: Wednesday, March 22, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-19-46-002
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