The London Archives will be hosting two morning lectures on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 November taught by Book and Paper Conservator Françoise Richard.
Preparing agar solvent-gel
Programme
Day one: Hydrogels - Thursday 20 November
Morning – Theory (9.00 to 12.30)
Poulticing and gelling materials combined with water-based solutions are widely used in paper conservation, and many different gelling materials have become available to conservators. How do gels work? What are their application limits? How to select the right gel to use for a specific treatment?
This session will define and classify gelling materials, with an emphasis on self-made hydrogels for local water-based treatments. Treatment application examples will focus on application methods and on the use of enzyme loaded gels for the removal of adhesive stains from paper.
Day two: Solvent-gels -Friday 21 November
Morning – Theory (9am to 12.30pm)
The session will focus on the two following topics:
- Organic solvents and hydrogels for the removal of pressure-sensitive tape in paper conservation: How to introduce organic solvents in hydrogels? How to select which solvent to use? The first part of the session will discuss how to optimize three main factors: efficiency, toxicity and sustainability.
- Mitigating potential side-effects of the application of hydrogels or solvent-gels on paper: The application of a water or solvent-based local treatment poses the risk of uneven appearance of treated surfaces, particularly by the formation of brown lines at the wet-dry interface. Cyclomethicone D5 will be presented as a treatment aid to help mitigating these risks.