Industrial design collection

The Industrial Design Association (ADI) owns the Compasso d'Oro
collection, one of the world's largest and most important
collections of industrial design. The large number of objects
reflects the technologies and materials developed in the course of
the 20th century, attesting in particular to the use of plastics and
modern industrial materials.

The Conservation Department at Centro Conservazione e Restauro La
Venaria Reale (Turin-Italia) has started focusing on design and
production processes for two years. Topics of interests are the
technology and conservation of degraded modern materials these
design objects are made of and the consequences on their ageing,
decaying and degradation.

Some types of damages are often troublesome in terms of conservation
as they are already bear irreversible traces of damage, caused by
previous treatments and incorrect storage.

We are currently testing different types of resins to integrate
missing parts and to finish surfaces, but we are having an hard time
as there aren't an established methodology and a rich bibliography
on the conservation of design objects.

We are looking for all information on actual treatments in the
conservation of design objects made of modern materials.

For instance:

    Which is the better glue for attaching PMMA objects or other
    hard plastic objects? It would be perfect if you could suggest a
    glue enabling reversible treatments whenever possible.

    What are the best treatments for retouching industrial paint
    layers (especially for paintings with a metallic finishing,
    extra-shiny polyurethane paints, etc.)?

    How to integrate missing pieces of transparent and translucent
    plastic objects, particularly when you have to reconstruct some
    parts?

Sandra Vazquez
Coordinator
Contemporary Art Conservator
Preservation and Restoration Center "La Venaria Reale"
Via XX Settembre,18.
Venaria Reale (Turin)
10078-Italy
+39 011 499 30 44
+39 320 23 73 159


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:18
                Distributed: Sunday, September 23, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-26-18-019
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