Resin for bronze

David Cottier-Angeli <dca [at] cottiermetal__ch> writes

>I have been asked to find a soft, flexible, clear resin with
>long-term stability that can be used as a kind of armature to hold
>tiny archaeological bronze fragments in precise positions. The
>fragments size will range from one millimeter to one centimeter in
>size.  The resin must allow rapid removal and then re-fixing the
>fragments safely.

This is only a suggestion for experimentation, but if you cast a
silicone rubber armature, and then coated it with Lascaux 360-HV, it
should remain tacky and might provide a chemically stable interface.
Again, this is just a theory.  I do not know if the Lascaux will
bond at all to the silicone, whether it is non-reactive enough, nor
whether it will creep or sag with time.  Being tacky will also mean
dust and other particulates will stick to it, and might actually be
too sticky for your purpose.  Perhaps if an extremely dry, stable
environment could be provided, the copper will cease to react with
the substrates, and a wider range of materials can be considered.

Good luck,

Linda S. Roundhill
Art and Antiquities Conservation, LLC
Woodinville, WA


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:12
                 Distributed: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-12-002
                                  ***