Teas Chart

Conservators use a variety of solvents to remove adhesives and clean many types of materials. The Teas chart is one of the ways of categorizing solvents. It is mainly empirical, but seems to work and is relatively easy to understand.

Not all conservators agree. For an opposite opinion read: Stavroudis, Chris; Blank, Sharon; “Solvents and Sensibility”; WAAC Newsletter 1989, 11(2), 2-10.

You will need to know basic organic chemistry and functional groups. Organic Chemistry I for Dummies by Arthur Winter is a useful information source.

After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:

• Describe the types of intermolecular bonding that are affected by solvents
• Understand the contribution of electronegativity to bond polarity and intermolecular bonding
• Use references that list the Teas fractional parameters to place the solvents on a Teas chart
• Use a Teas chart to aid in selecting appropriate solvents for specific applications

 Enter tutorial.

Useful links on this topic:

• Barton, A.F.M. Handbook of Solubility Parameters and Other Cohesive Parameters, 2nd edition; CRC: Boca Raton, Florida, 1991.
• Burke, John; “Solubility Parameters: Theory and Application”; AIC Book and Paper Group Annual 1984, 3.
• Horie, Velson; Materials for Conservation; Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford, 1987.
• Organic Chemistry I for Dummies.
• Stavroudis, Chris ; Blank, Sharon; “Solvents and Sensibility” WAAC Newsletter 1989, 11(2), 2-10.
• JAIC Online
• Phenix, Alan; “The swelling of artists’ paints in organic solvents. Part 2, comparative swelling powers of selected organic solvents and solvent mixtures”; JAIC 2002, 41(1), 61-90.
• Smith, Merrily A.; Jones, Norvell M. M.; Page, Susan L.; Dirda, Marian Peck; “Pressure-sensitive tape and techniques for its removal from paper”; JAIC 1984, 23(2), 101-113.
• Woolbrink, Thomas; “The composition of proprietary paint strippers”; JAIC 1993, 32(1), 43-57.