Solvent Vapour Use – The Unintended Consequences in Textile Conservation

Abstract

The impact of solvent vapour from two solvents, acetone and industrial denatured alcohol (IDA), commonly used in adhesive reactivation in textile conservation, when applied to artificially soiled silk fabric through either Gore-Tex® or Reemay® membranes for exposure times of either 1 or 3 min, was measured using microscopy and ImageJ to monitor the movement of the solid particulates of the soiling, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) to monitor the movement of the oily components. Analysis using these techniques successfully showed the movement of large particulates through the textile and a decrease in the presence of oil. Analysis with FTIR-ATR showed that the application of solvent vapour by a poultice method produces more than just a surface change and the vapour can penetrate far enough into the fibres to cause a change in the level of oil through the entire textile. The results showed that the solvents and barrier membranes have characteristic differences which impact on the changes on the soiling. The application of acetone produced a greater change in the movement of oil on the front and back of the samples than the application of IDA, while a comparison between the barrier membranes showed a greater change occurring in the level of oil with the use of Gore-Tex® rather than Reemay®. The time of exposure to solvent vapour made little difference to the changes to the textile soiling. Quantitatively significant results were gathered from analysis of the changes in the oil measured with FTIR-ATR, and qualitative changes in the large particulate soiling, demonstrating the potential usefulness of ImageJ open access software in future historic textile soiling monitoring studies.

Pacific Barkcloth Under the Microscope – Characterisation of Condition, Decoration and Structure

“…This is a standard precaution taken by conservators before applying any liquid or moisture to a coloured surface, however the particulate nature of the pigment seen in the microscopy images of cloth E611-3, and research into the colorants used during the production and for the decoration of barkcloth indicate that the adherence of the pigments to the bark fibres cannot be assumed to be stable, and pigments only coat the surface of the fibres (Flowers et al 2019). Previous research has shown the ability of organic solvent vapour to move particulates of dirt (Macken and Smith 2018) and a hypothesis could be made that a similar result could occur with the addition of water vapour to colorants that maybe water soluble.…”

Evaluating the Impacts of Alcohol-Based Solutions on Silk: Chemical, Mechanical and Wettability Changes before and after Artificial Ageing

“…Since the current work looks at the interaction between silk fabrics and sanitising products, it should be noted that alcohols are sometimes employed also in textiles conservation. More specifically, the use of industrial denatured alcohol, commercially known as IMS or IDA, has been reported for wet cleaning [23], and for the application/removal of adhesives [31,32]. Furthermore, both alcohols and QACs are mentioned for the disinfection, i.e., for the elimination of microfungi and bacteria, of historic textiles [23,33].…”