Re: [BKARTS] acrylic wax / Bill Minter

[William Minter <wminter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

An earlier question to the  Subject: "Re: [BKARTS] Heavily applied 
leather treatment.
On Aug 22, 2006, at 9:58 AM, William Minter wrote:
> ............ If possible, I try to avoid using waxes and acrylics, 
> especially on older, rarer books.

On Aug 22, 2006, at 10:20 AM, Stephanie Nowak wrote:
> What is the reason for your concern about using acrylic wax?
******************************
Hopefully the following answers your question:
I feel that the application of waxes and new acrylics to the older and 
stable leathers of rare books could create a problem. While the new 
acrylic consolidants are needed for red-rot, I think that they should 
not be applied to all leather. Yes, we want to protect the leather, but 
do older/stable leathers need a coating, especially if that coating 
could interfere with future treatments.
In fact, I sometimes wonder if we should remove, if that is possible, 
older/earlier applications of whatever, i.e. oils, waxes, etc. before 
our treatment. In other words, if you were painting something, you 
might want to strip off the old paint to insure that you were getting 
the best end product. For example, you would not paint over flaking 
paint, nor paint a surface that has grease on it without some form of 
preparation. Yet, we are applying something to a leather binding that 
may have been treated with some other product. For years, we applied 
potassium lactate and leather dressing to bindings without removing 
earlier applications of dressing. And today, there are numerous 
proprietary concoctions that are available, all with their own unique 
properties that might not mix with something new.
Its a difficult question and seems to warrant further discussion and 
research.
Bill Minter

William Minter Bookbinding & Conservation, Inc.
4364 Woodbury Pike
Woodbury, PA  16695
814-793-4020
Fax:   814-793-4045
Email:    wminter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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