Stabiltex/Tetex

A brief update on Stabiltex/Tetex  - UK

    We all heard last year that Sefar, a Swiss based manufacturer of
    monofilament precision fabrics, had withdrawn Stabiltex/Tetex
    from production. This left us with somewhat of a dilemma and no
    replacement for this much used fabric.

    However, recent news that Sefar produced white and a batch of
    coloured stabiltex for Talas in the US prompted us to return
    again to PlastOk. PlastOk have confirmed that they, not only,
    have a small amount of end of line in stock--white, black, red,
    beige and khaki/olive green--but that they will, in light of
    these developments, continue to stock this limited range of
    colours once again. They also confirmed that Sefar can produce a
    single colour in 125 meter batches but PlastOk will only deviate
    from the limited range, mentioned above, if they have an
    assurance that they can sell the batch--probably more than any
    of us can promise. The price per meter has risen from
    approximately UKP39 to UKP60.82 per metre. If you have queries
    about colours please contact

        PlastOk:
        79 Market Street
        Birkenhead, Merseyside CH41 6AN, UK
        +44 151 666 2056
        assoc<-at->plastok<.>co<.>uk

    Obviously, this scaling back in the colour range, limits our
    palette considerably. However, we have also been looking into
    ways of dyeing without requiring pressure. Terasil, a disperse
    dye for polyester, has been used very infrequently at the V&A
    for about 15 years. We contacted Townend (Leeds) plc and they
    still recommend Terasil, for dyeing white stabiltex. The dyes
    are relatively expensive and the cost of your time to dye will
    also be a big consideration.

    We have put Townend and Terasil information--dye costs, dyeing
    method and a recipe on The Icon Textile Group web pages

    <URL:http://www.icon.org.uk/
        index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=>

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.

    If you have queries, comments or suggestions for the Textile
    Group committee we would be very pleased to hear them. Please
    contact r.morris<-at->vam<.>ac<.>uk

A brief update on Stabiltex/Tetex - US

    Two American conservators have been in direct contact with
    Sefar's Minneapolis, Minnesota office for over a year and half
    working diligently to identify the issues with the supply chain
    for Stablitex/Tetex and to advocate for its value to the
    conservation market by stressing the properties that make it a
    unique and irreplaceable product.

    Two issues emerged. Significant end-user (that's us)
    dissatisfaction with dye-lot colour variation was resulting in
    financial losses and frustrations. Secondly, conservation is a
    very small secondary market for Tetex/Stabiltex. Dyeing
    Tetex/Stabiltex is a post-fabrication process for our market,
    but current technical limitations result in visible dye-lot
    colour shifts. To protect the continued availability of
    Tetex/Stabiltex conservators need to expect and accept
    perceptible colour variations within dye-lots. As textile
    conservators we are aware that immersion dyeing (using disperse
    dyes for polyester in this case) is difficult to achieve
    precision colour replication, either in our labs or in the
    industry. Exploring end-user in-lab colouring processes on white
    Tetex/Stabiltex will give conservators both a larger palette and
    a more exacting colour match for our highly individual work.
    Information on available colours and pricing from Talas can be
    found at:

    <URL:http://apps.webcreate.com/ecom/
        catalog/product_specific.cfm?ClientID=15&ProductID=17620>

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.

    Talas
    330 Morgan Ave.
    Brooklyn, NY 11211
    212-219-0770
    Fax: 212-219-0735

Acknowledgements: We are very grateful to Talas and PlastOk for
their persistence and particularly for undertaking the financial
investment necessary that allows Tetex/Stabiltex to continue to be
available to the conservation market.



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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:12
                 Distributed: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-12-001
                                  ***