Dr Charis Theodorakopoulos, Senior Lecturer in Conservation, Northumbria University and Dr Bronwyn Ormsby, Principal Conservation Scientist, Tate
October 2021–
Synthetic varnishes have been applied to artworks by artists and conservators since at least the 1950s. However, over time chemical and physical alterations occur leading to yellowing, delamination or clouding which can cause undesirable changes in the appearance of artworks. In these instances, it may be appropriate to remove these degraded varnishes or coatings. Current varnish removal techniques are largely based on those developed for the conservation of traditional, usually oil-based paintings, and there are currently no methods for the safe removal of acrylic-based polymer varnishes from paint films of the same polymer type.
This project will primarily investigate the use of Surface Attached Gels (SAGs) swollen with a range of varnish removal liquids as a novel method for safely removing or thinning acrylic varnishes from acrylic dispersion paints. This approach provides the opportunity to tune the liquid-gel combinations for specific applications to a variety of surfaces. A systematic evaluation of the optical, chemical, and physical impacts of SAG varnish removal processes will be conducted to ensure safe and effective solutions to this longstanding conservation challenge.