Polyurethane

We are currently preparing to exhibit a piece by Yayoi Kusama made
up of a number of shoes.  These shoes date to the 1970s.  The
polyurethane soles on two of them are actively deteriorating (one is
crumbling while the other is cracking).

Does anyone have any suggestions for consolidation or treatment for
these objects?  What I have found in the literature has pertained
more to polyurethane foam rather than the injected polyurethane used
for shoes, which suggests the use of Lascaux or Polyurethane
emulsions in water (applied with a nebuliser).

Cindy Lee Scott
Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Objects Conservation
Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit, MI 48202
313-833-1728

Elizabeth Rydzewski Holford
Holford Objects Conservation, LLC


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:43
                 Distributed: Saturday, March 30, 2013
                       Message Id: cdl-26-43-033
                                  ***