Tear repair for doped aircraft fabric

I am undertaking a collaborative PhD research project between the
Science Museum, London, and Imperial College London on the
conservation of tears in doped fabric aircraft for static display.
These are aircraft that have a fabric skin (often linen or cotton)
which is then coated with a substance known as "dope" to cause
tautening.  Dopes are historically often cellulose nitrate or
cellulose acetate based.

I am seeking information about current and historical methods used
for repairing tears in doped fabric (or similarly coated materials)
and would be most grateful if anyone who has experience working on
such material could share their experience and knowledge.  I'm
particularly interested in finding out about the methods used for
re-aligning the tear edges, the materials chosen, and any
observations on the long-term performance/behavior of treatments.
Suggestions for relevant sources of literature would also be greatly
appreciated.

Ben Regel
Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Student
Science Museum, Conservation Department
Imperial College London, Materials Department


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:39
                  Distributed: Friday, March 13, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-39-014
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