dk nkf - Nordisk Konservatorforbund Danmark

Another look at painted finishes on outdoor
industrial artifacts
Introduction
It is difficult to overstate the importance of painted
finishes on industrial artifacts in the context of
museum collections. In most cases, the finish is
the largest component of an artifact that the visitor
sees. If one were to take away the painted surfaces,
all that would remain would be rubber, glass, some
plated metal trim and a few brass or bronze fittings
– sometimes as little as ten percent of the artifact in
one’s field of view. [1] The museum experience of
industrial artifacts being predominantly visual, one
could argue that a major part of what a visitor actually
experiences is painted finishes.
But a finish is more than just a visual component of an
industrial artifact. The finish is usually the last thing
applied by the manufacturer to the artifact.[2] As
such, it functions as a direct and intimate connection
with the artifact’s manufacturer and in turn, with our
industrial heritage.
Accepting that finishes are a dominant feature of
industrial artifacts [3], one would expect museums
and private owners to be obsessed with preserving and
displaying original paint in almost any condition. But
this is rarely the case. Finishes in anything less than
perfect condition are often deemed as expendable;
they continue to be removed and replaced with
new materials in an effort to create “like-new” and
“showroom condition” versions of the artifacts.
It is an indisputable fact that no more “original”
finishes from a particular time period can be created
and very few undiscovered originals will miraculously
appear, like the legendary automobiles found in
long-abandoned barns. The collective inventory of
original industrial finishes from any given period can
only decrease with the passage of time. This threat
of extinction is rarely appreciated when decisions are
made concerning the repainting of artifacts.
Defining ‘original’
george prytuLaK
But what is actually meant by the term “original?”
Strictly speaking, original means “the first, preceding
all others.” This is a very restrictive definition. In
terms of mass-produced industrial artifacts, it can
mean only one thing: the finish applied by the
manufacturer at the factory. With one-of-a-kind
artifacts, it can mean only the finish applied by the
maker or under the maker’s direction. As will be
seen, such a precise meaning of “original” can be
applied only to a handful of industrial artifacts in
existence.
Such a narrow definition is linguistically correct
and it should be upheld, but it may have serious
consequences: museums and private collectors
might be inclined to disregard, remove or replace
everything that is not strictly original. In reality,
there are many non-original finishes that are still
historically valid. It is time to widen our focus – what
might be called our value system – beyond finishes
that are strictly “the first, preceding all others.”
Broadening our value system
As a rule, the finish on industrial artifacts was rarely
expected to last the lifetime of its parent artifact.
Removal and reapplication of aged paint was a
crucial part of an object’s maintenance program.
This was particularly the case with large artifacts
like trains, ships, and airplanes owned and operated
by corporations or governments. These corporate
bodies repainted their vehicles on a regular basis to
protect their investments, to ensure high safety and
performance standards, and to please potential users
and buyers. The exterior maintenance of a railroad
passenger coach during its working life was said to
equal the cost to its original construction. Much of
this maintenance involved repainting. [4]
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