Abstract
The removal of hydrophobic materials from a porous support, such as wax stains on wall paintings, is particularly challenging. In this context, traditional methods display several drawbacks. The limitations of these methods can be overcome by amphiphile-based aqueous nanostructured fluids, such as micellar solutions and microemulsions. In this study, a microemulsion for the removal of wax spots from artistic surfaces was formulated. The nanostructured fluid includes a non-ionic surfactant, i.e., Triton X-100, and two apolar solvents, namely p-xylene and n-nonane. The solvents were selected on the basis of solubility tests of three waxes in several organic solvents. The nanostructured fluid was characterized by means of small-angle X-rays scattering (SAXS) and the information about micelle structure was used to understand the interaction between the microemulsion and the selected waxes. The microemulsion was then tested during the restoration of the frescoes in the Major Chapel of the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence, Italy. After some preliminary tests on fresco mockups reproduced in the laboratory, the nanostructured fluid was successfully used to clean some wax deposits from the real paintings, hardly removable with traditional physico-mechanical methods.
Highlights
The removal of hydrophobic materials from a porous support, such as unwanted and detrimental polymeric coatings and/or wax stains on stones or wall paintings, is a common procedure in the conservation of cultural heritage [1,2]
We proposed a new o/w microemulsion based on Triton X-100, xylene and nonane nonane for the removal of hydrophobic matter from works of art
We studied the for the removal of hydrophobic matter from works of art
Summary
The removal of hydrophobic materials from a porous support, such as unwanted and detrimental polymeric coatings and/or wax stains on stones or wall paintings, is a common procedure in the conservation of cultural heritage [1,2]. Conservators traditionally use apolar organic solvents [3,4], which swell or solubilize the wax, or physical methods, which usually soften the material by heating and subsequently allow the mechanical removal of the unwanted deposits. The major disadvantage of these methods is that the solved or molten wax is usually spread in the pores of the substrate, making any attempt of further removal even more complicated, if not impossible. Even if this can be tolerated, or even appreciated, from an aesthetic standpoint—since the wax optical density is reduced to such an extent that the stain could become invisible to the naked eye—, this effect should be firmly avoided. The main drawback of laser cleaning is the requirement of expensive and not- portable instrumentation
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