Connecting to Collections Care

We have an outdoor bronze statue (c. 1930) that has been treated by a conservator and protected with incralac and paste wax.  The statue, which sits on a 10'-12'-high plinth, gets a coat of wax twice a year.  The crew has to rent a lift to get to it and everything!

Staff recently asked if they could start using a liquid, sprayed wax instead of the standard paste wax.  They think it will

be easier to get the wax into crevices and will avoid dealing with globs of wax that happen.  The products they proposed include Meguiars and Turtle brands (I have the "ingredients" if needed).

I've searched and searched, but haven't found anything about the use of spray waxes on historic bronze.  Are there resources out there that I am missing?  If not, any advice on whether this is an appropriate treatment method?

Thanks!

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Kim Dillon
Cultural Resource Management Section
Missouri State Parks
Jefferson City MO
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Hi Kim,

Thank you for reaching out to the C2CC Discussion Board with this! I am the current Connecting to Collections Care monitor.

I am in the process of reaching out to experts in the C2CC community to answer your questions. In the mean time, could you please provide the SDS sheets/ingredients of the proposed spray waxes?

 I will get back to you with recommendations from the C2CC experts as soon as possible.

Warm regards,
Victoria

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Victoria Kablys
Conservator
Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Regina SK
(306) 787-2667
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Sure thing.

Brand 1:

Caranauba Wax Blend
Organo modified silicone
Dimethicone
Laureth 9
Alcohol C-11-14 Isopropanol and C12,C13 ethoxylated

Brand 2:

Carnauba Wax
Hydrogenated Tallow Amines
Dimethicone
Isopropanol
Middle Alkanes
Dicocodimethyl ammonium chloride
C10-16 Alcohol Ethoxylate
Butoxyethanol
Dipropylene Gycol
Benzyl Benzoate
Poly oxyethylene dimethyliminio ethylene dichloride
Soyethyidimonium Ethosulfate
Coumarin
Cyclotetrasilozane

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Kim Dillon
CRM Chief
Missouri State Parks
Jefferson City MO
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-17-2020 11:57
From: Victoria Kablys
Subject: Sprayed Wax on Bronze Outdoor Statues?

Hi Kim,

Thank you for reaching out to the C2CC Discussion Board with this! I am the current Connecting to Collections Care monitor.

I am in the process of reaching out to experts in the C2CC community to answer your questions. In the mean time, could you please provide the SDS sheets/ingredients of the proposed spray waxes?

 I will get back to you with recommendations from the C2CC experts as soon as possible.

Warm regards,
Victoria

------------------------------
Victoria Kablys
Conservator
Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Regina SK
(306) 787-2667
------------------------------

Thanks for adding the link @Mary Wilcop!​

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--------------------------------------
Robin Bauer Kilgo
Connecting to Collections Care Coordinator, FAIC
c2cc@culturalheritage.org
Contract Registrar/Consultant
rbkilgo@gmail.com
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-18-2020 11:53
From: Mary Wilcop
Subject: Sprayed Wax on Bronze Outdoor Statues?

To the Editor: in my initial reply to the group, I neglected to include the link to the OSG PP website! When/if this is posted as a reply, could you use the following version instead (which includes that link)? Thank you, Mary Wilcop. Post begins below:

Dear Kim, 

Conservator Nicholas Veloz (1943-2013) published an excellent article for the AIC Objects Specialty Group Postprints about his approach to spray-applied waxes for outdoor bronze plaques (whose raised text was otherwise impossible to consistently wax by hand). Link: http://resources.culturalheritage.org/osg-postprints/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/02/osg004-03.pdf. As I'm sure you already know, such a treatment should only be carried out by an experienced objects conservator and with thoughtful consideration of the potential health and safety hazards spray applications can present, as it may not be appropriate for every environment. Consulting the AIC Health & Safety Wiki is a good place to start if you have not yet visited. 

As current OSG Postprints co-editor, I encourage you to include the Search tool in the OSG-PP archives - along with databases like the AATA, BCIN - for additional resources about outdoor sculpture conservation! 

Kind regards,
Mary Wilcop

Mary Wilcop

Associate Objects Conservator

T: 708-214-8517

Pronouns: she, her, hers

 

Carnegie Museum of Art

cmoa.org | 4400 Forbes Avenue|Pittsburgh, PA 15213

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