Zinc White and the Influence of Paint Composition for Stability in Oil Based Media

Osmond, Gary

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10100-2_18

Cited by 31 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Although peak splitting of these bands is seen in synthetic zinc oleate, the analysis of the protrusions described in this work has shown that zinc soaps containing primarily saturated fatty acids can also produce peak splitting when they form naturally in paint layers. Other FTIR spectra of zinc soaps with band splitting similar to the protrusions presented here have been reported, although without corresponding fatty acid profiles (van der Weerd et al 2003;Corbeil et al 2011;Osmond 2014). Further work may determine the prevalence of this type of zinc soap protrusion and shed more light on its formation.…”

Section: Ftirsupporting

confidence: 64%

Conservation Issues in Several Twentieth-Century Canadian Oil Paintings: The Role of Zinc Carboxylate Reaction Products

Helwig¹,

Poulin²,

Corbeil³

et al. 2014

Issues in Contemporary Oil Paint

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In an on-going study of the materials and techniques of twentieth-century Canadian painters, similar conservation issues in oil paintings by various artists have been noted. These include delamination and lifting paint, zinc soap protrusions and surface efflorescence or accretions. Examples of these phenomena are presented. Delamination in an oil painting from 1956 was found to be related to an underlayer with a high concentration of zinc fatty acid salts (zinc soaps). In two paintings that date from 1936 and 1937, zinc soaps have aggregated and formed protrusions that have broken through the paint surface. The protrusions were analysed using a combination of SEM-EDX, GCMS and FTIR. The FTIR spectra were compared to those of synthetic zinc palmitate, stearate, azelate and oleate. The combined GCMS and FTIR results indicate that the protrusions contain primarily zinc palmitate and stearate. Peak splitting in the FTIR spectrum, which is not observed in synthetic zinc palmitate, stearate or binary palmitate-stearate salts, is likely due to structural distortion. The final example describes a disfiguring surface accretion on a 1952-1954 painting caused by the reaction of zinc with a low molecular weight carboxylic acid (2-hydroxypropanoic or lactic acid).

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Section: Ftirsupporting

confidence: 64%

Conservation Issues in Several Twentieth-Century Canadian Oil Paintings: The Role of Zinc Carboxylate Reaction Products

Helwig¹,

Poulin²,

Corbeil³

et al. 2014

Issues in Contemporary Oil Paint

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“…The presence of zinc white in modern paints is an important issue, since this pigment could influence the mechanical behaviour and stability of the paint layer (Mecklenburg 2007) and can react with fatty acids to form zinc carboxylates after hydrolysis of the fatty acid moieties (Robinet and Corbeil 2003;van der Weerd et al 2005;Osmond 2014). …”

Section: Zinc Oxide and Oleic Acidmentioning

confidence: 97%

Modern Oil Paints – Formulations, Organic Additives and Degradation: Some Case Studies

Izzo

Berg

Keulen

et al. 2014

Issues in Contemporary Oil Paint

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This study examines some of the degradation phenomena exhibited by modern oil paintings and twentieth century oil paint formulations and possible correlations with the various organic additives typically introduced by manufacturers. The research takes into consideration historical and modern tube oil paints produced by different European manufacturers and selected twentieth century oil paintings which showed degradation problems such as efflorescence, softening, cracks and sensitivity towards water and polar solvents. The composition of oil paints and paintings samples was studied with XRF, SEM-EDX, ATR-FTIR and GCMS. The results showed that both artists' oil paints and paintings samples contain a complex mixture of additives to the oil binders and pigments. The presence of aluminium and zinc stearates, added as dispersion agent gelling agents, was detected in most paint formulations of HKS, W&N, Talens and Maimeri (c. 1940-present). Several paint films showed an unusually high content of fatty diacids, suggesting that, in drying, an oxidative reaction was favoured above polymerisation. This occurrence, together with the diversity of lipidic media, additives, pigments and driers present in the industrial formulations could play a crucial role in paint failure and instability, as showed by the analysed case studies. The obtained results may help understanding the behaviour of modern oil paints and painting surfaces and contribute to improved conservation methods.

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“…This could be caused by either a different coordination geometry or by a distortion of the tetrahedral structure around the zinc cation [9]. It has been hypothesized that the presence of mixed or hydrated soaps could prevent a compact packing configuration and lead to peak splitting [32]. Further work would be required to elucidate the mechanism of formation of the protrusion and the structure of zinc soaps showing this type of peak splitting.…”

Section: Equations In Space (1936) By Lawren Harrismentioning

confidence: 99%

Infrared chemical mapping of degradation products in cross-sections from paintings and painted objects

Henderson¹,

Helwig²,

Read

et al. 2019

Herit Sci

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Paintings and painted objects are quite susceptible to degradation, as paint layers are usually composed of complex mixtures of materials that can participate in chemical degradation processes. The identification of the constituent materials in paint (including binders, pigments, and fillers) and the degradation products within paint layers is of particular importance to ensuring the conservation of paintings, by providing important information both about their material history as well as their state of conservation. Metal fatty acid salts (metal soaps) are degradation products that can form in situ from interactions between inorganic pigments and free fatty acids in oil-based binding media, and can cause significant condition issues in paintings. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is one of the leading analytical techniques for the study of metal soaps. In this article, the materials analysis of several cross-sections from paintings and painted objects from works in Canadian collections is presented. Recent results on the use of external reflection FTIR (R-FTIR) spectroscopy to identify and map the distribution of paint components and metal soap degradation products is presented. In particular, zinc, lead, calcium, and copper fatty acid salts were all readily identified in paint cross-sections by R-FTIR spectroscopy, along with several pigments and the oil binding medium. The results shown here are among the first detailed examinations of these metal soaps in paint cross-sections using R-FTIR spectroscopy. The use of highly polished samples in which specular reflection is dominant allowed for spectral transformations to be applied to generate transmission/absorption-like spectra which facilitated identification of these species. The distribution of these species across the cross-sections was mapped by integrating characteristic absorption features in the R-FTIR spectra. Attenuated total internal reflection (ATR) FTIR spectroscopy was also performed on several samples, which provided additional compositional details at the interface of paint layers and degradation products.

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Zinc White and the Influence of Paint Composition for Stability in Oil Based Media

Cited by 31 publications

References 19 publications

Conservation Issues in Several Twentieth-Century Canadian Oil Paintings: The Role of Zinc Carboxylate Reaction Products

Conservation Issues in Several Twentieth-Century Canadian Oil Paintings: The Role of Zinc Carboxylate Reaction Products

Modern Oil Paints – Formulations, Organic Additives and Degradation: Some Case Studies

Infrared chemical mapping of degradation products in cross-sections from paintings and painted objects

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