Abstract
At present, many historical artefacts and furniture are only reconstructed and not restored. They are preserved in terms of material reparation, but their historical value decreases significantly. This work is focused on the comparison of the resistance of high-gloss polyurethane varnish with traditional shellac varnish. The varnishes were applied to oak wood and exposed to interior artificial accelerated ageing in Xenotest. Before and after ageing, cold liquid-resistance tests were performed on the tested specimens and gloss, colour, and adhesion were also evaluated. The structures of the surfaces were also analysed using a confocal laser scanning microscope. As expected, polyurethane varnish was much more durable than shellac varnish. Interestingly, shellac varnish was fairly resistant to water at the beginning, but this resistance was greatly reduced after artificial accelerated ageing. This illustrates the importance of sheltering the shellac treated artefacts in stable temperature-humidity conditions with the least possible effect of solar radiation.
Highlights
The restoration of damaged wooden artefacts requires observance of procedures and materials that were used for the production of originals during the relevant historical period [1]
The experimental tests confirmed the overall lower resistance of the natural shellac varnish compared to synthetic polyurethane used for oak wood
The resistance of the shellac coating to water was greatly reduced after the artificial accelerated ageing in Xenotest, based on the modified
Summary
The restoration of damaged wooden artefacts requires observance of procedures and materials that were used for the production of originals during the relevant historical period [1]. It is used to preserve artefacts, traditional materials and craftsmanship, which are an integral part of cultural heritage. Many artefacts are only reconstructed and not restored [2,3]. This is due to the lower cost of renovation, easy accessibility, and often better features of modern materials (adhesives, coatings, etc.), faster process and in some cases, insufficient experience of the person carrying out the renovation. One positive aspect is the fact that the artefact is preserved in material terms; its historical value decreases significantly. Before the introduction of synthetic paints, surface treatments of furniture, plastics or interior equipment were mainly done using oils, waxes, polychromes, paints, and transparent shellac varnishes [4]
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