Wax objects

Within the project "Wax Collages: Precious Craftsmanship in Danger
of Extinction" at the Deutsches Hygiene Museum Dresden a test series
on different adhesives for wax objects is being carried. So far,
several adhesives were tested (different PVACs dispersions, mixture
of sturgeons glue an wheat starch and PEG) on different
wax-resin-mixtures.

The tests are not finished yet. First results however showed that
some of the PVACs reveal an adhesive-strength which is too high for
the test dummies, PEG seems too weak, and some of the adhesives need
further investigation.  Some other observations made during the test
series made clear that it is necessary to look closer at the
consistency and shape of the objects that need treatment. Thus,
tests with solvents on the dummies proved that ingredients within
the wax mixtures were dissolved and migrated to the surface--in this
case treatment with solvent based adhesives could endanger the
object. Also, while the PEG proved not strong enough for our dummies
of 6 mm thickness, it might be suitable for adhering thin layers or
pieces of wax as described in literature.

Johanna Lang
(Dipl.-Restauratorin)
Stiftung Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden
Lingnerplatz 1
D-01069 Dresden
Germany
+49 351 846 216


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:17
                 Distributed: Sunday, November 15, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-23-17-002
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