Plaster reliefs

Amir Hosein Karimy <ahkarimy [at] yahoo__com> writes

>Saye Khajeian <khajeian [at] yahoo__com> writes
>
>>We are working in a mosque that belongs to 300 years ago and there
>>is fine decorative art, of gypsum. For some reason its surface is
>>covered by oily germs of candle.  Does anyone have any idea that how
>>can I treat this? ...
>
> ... If you are
>certain must be removed you can use dimethyl formamide; I think it
>will work.

As I am sure everyone is aware, dimethyl formamide is seriously
toxic, carcinogenic and is also a known teratogen (chemicals that
lead to structural and/or functional birth defects). It is also
damaging to the liver, kidneys, the central nervous system, and the
cardiovascular system (see Coshh regulations for more information).
It can be readily absorbed through the skin as well as by inhalation
and ingestion. One is to avoid prolonged or repeated exposure. I
know that conservators are very used to working with such materials,
but I would worry about its use in a large area over a long period
of time and in a non-extracted public space. And it really smells
terrible.

Dr Annemarie La Pensee
National Conservation Centre
Whitechapel
Liverpool L1 6HZ - UK


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:22
                 Distributed: Sunday, October 29, 2006
                       Message Id: cdl-20-22-002
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