Conservation and Restoration of Clear Coatings on Furniture and ...

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In the wrong h<strong>and</strong>s, a well-intended but unaware or untrained person can cause irreversible damage in a matter <strong>of</strong>
minutes.
Even among pr<strong>of</strong>essionally practicing conservators in Australia (trained abroad), the treatment <strong>of</strong> coatings
or finishes for furniture or architectural timbers is a grey area with no real specialist knowledge available.
<strong>Conservation</strong> science <strong>and</strong> the treatment <strong>of</strong> finishes for furniture/timber is an area <strong>of</strong> on-going research in the
US, UK <strong>and</strong> Europe. Products need to be developed to meet the harsher environmental conditions in
Australia.
New materials <strong>and</strong> techniques tend to filter down through technology developed for other facets <strong>of</strong> conservation or
other un-related fields. In Australia we only know about these advances that may be used in conservation or
finishing treatments for furniture through papers or articles published on the internet. Conservators employed in
other fields tend to work in environments which encourage <strong>and</strong> foster the cross fertilisation <strong>of</strong> knowledge <strong>and</strong>
research. Most furniture conservators employed in Australia are privately employed <strong>and</strong> thus have little contact with
conservators in other fields. Being privately employed, the time available for research <strong>and</strong> development is minimal.
Institutions abroad employ furniture conservators who work in conjunction with conservation scientists, <strong>and</strong> analysts
to develop new or existing technology for the specialised use in furniture conservation. Much <strong>of</strong> this research is in
developing ways to clean old finishes <strong>and</strong> materials without disturbing the ground. Protecting <strong>and</strong> prolonging the life
<strong>of</strong> the original finish is the desired outcome on old furniture.
Much research is also being conducted on the use <strong>of</strong> new clear coatings for the use on important furniture <strong>and</strong>
architectural timberwork. Commercial finishes employed in recent times (50 years) have a short life expectancy <strong>and</strong>
once damaged, the option to repair is <strong>of</strong>ten not possible or viable. New finishes deteriorate to an extent where they
cannot be saved, thus they are periodically removed <strong>and</strong> re-coated. This process is not only hugely expensive but
they also leave the underlying timber very vulnerable to damage, either mechanically or chemically. <strong>Conservation</strong>
grade finishes are being developed abroad for institutions where timber is a prominent architectural material <strong>and</strong>
used for decorative detail. A finish which can withst<strong>and</strong> day-to-day use, can be maintained rather than replaced,
protect the underlying timber from ultraviolet light, moisture <strong>and</strong> mechanical damage, plus be able to age acceptably.
This is becoming increasingly important when we are already running into trouble with some <strong>of</strong> our most significant
Australian Interiors that are already in need <strong>of</strong> attention 10 or 20 years after manufacture.