spray for sketches

[hgeek23]

I was just at Blick and the framer told me that to preserve paper and prevent yellowing (i.e. for my sketches) i should spray them with a certain spray that neutralizes the acid in the paper. This would not make any noticeable changes appearancewise.

I'm wondering people's thoughts on this. Will this ruin the sketches value? Is this a "no-no" for sketch collection?

Thanks!

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

I've never heard of anything like that.... I would be VERY suspicious of spraying anything at all on my sketches. Do you know more about it? The name of the product? The experience level of the framer?

[hgeek23]

I'll get the name of the product. The framer was experienced and work at blick. The framer said that many artists used the spray in order to stop deterioration of paper.

[iceman57]

I'll get the name of the product. The framer was experienced and work at blick. The framer said that many artists used the spray in order to stop deterioration of paper.

Stop on what time range, and for what kind of material? Thanks for additionnal details
Once you have the spray name, I'll transmit to my paper restorer for opinion.

[sensei]

hgeek23 previously emailed me on the topic for a quick opinion. I had heard of the product (properly called "deacidification spray") and seen it in the Bags Unlimited catalog (under the brandname Bookkeeper). It's commonly used to treat high-acid paper such as newsprint, especially before framing. I've seen historical news articles and vintage advertisements on display, particularly in restaurants, and noticed that they were not turning yellow as newsprint usually does when exposed to constant light, so I assume that this or a similar product was used on the paper before it was framed.

But I had never used it myself, as it is work intensive and, to my eyes, expensive. The smallest size (8 oz) costs $33.00 and covers 25 square feet, by my reckoning about 900 standard-sized sketches. But each would need to be treated by hand, and the paper needs to be secured vertically to ensure even coverage. It seemed an iffy proposition to me, especially as 250 Microchamber sheets cost $80.00 (I cut them in half to make 500). According to the manufacturer, a sheet included in a bag with a paper product (such as a vintage comic book) holds back yellowing even if you do not place one next to every single sheet of paper. (This is because the most damaging products of deterioration are vapors, which the paper absorbs and neutralizes). Using one half sheet of MicroChamber to five sheets of paper protects 1250 sketches, and one avoids mounting, spraying, and drying the individual sketches. (And the work issue is important to me as sketches in my collection seem to breed like hamsters.)

But I'm not a professional conserver, so I suggested he ask on this forum. Given iceman's contacts in well-informed long-term archiving, I think his final judgment would be important.

However, in using Google to refresh my memory on the brand name, I came across this interesting review of Bookkeeper's deacidification spray on a professional conservers' website:

http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic ... 15-17.html

It's not very complimentary. Along with the various technical photographs and graphs, it identifies a number of serious problems with the product, which are nicely summed up in the conclusion:

Papers treated with Bookkeeper® showed observable color changes after aging, and some changes in the paper character. An excess of magnesium oxide is easily deposited with hand-held sprayers, and an even deposition is difficult to achieve. The magnesium-containing particles leave a noticeable whitish haze on the paper that can be visually distracting. In one-sided spray application, the pH of the paper can be expected to be higher on the treated side than on the untreated side. Color shifts during artificial aging indicate that at least some types of paper treated with Bookkeeper® experience a whiteness reduction greater than that occurring in untreated papers. This may not be the only magnesium-based non-aqueous deacidificant that produces such an effect.

Additional (long-term) experiments will have to be conducted before further conclusions can be drawn on the effects of Bookkeeper® (and other non-aqueous) deacidification agents in the treatment of individual artifacts. For now, however, it remains to be emphasized that the spray application of Bookkeeper® still poses unresolved questions that inspire caution.

The review is dated 1996, so Bookkeeper may have altered its formula to respond to these criticisms. Still, it doesn't sound encouraging.
IMHO MicroChamber paper seems a less intrusive and less expensive solution.

[hgeek23]

The spray at Blick was called Krylon "Make it acid-free".
Let us know what you come up with.
Thanks!

[sensei]

Here's the material data safety sheet on this product. It's essentially powdered calcium carbonate dispersed in a spray made of butane, propane, and dichloropentafluoropropane, an inert chemical used mostly as a refrigerant. It's on California's list of potential carcinogens.

I did a quick Google and did not find a professional review. Trained conservators seemed skeptical, but I don't find any actual field tests of the product like the one I found for Bookkeeper. Amazon reviews were mostly positive, but reviewers noted that it does have a strong chemical smell and did leave a film of white residue on paper. Maybe it would be OK sprayed on the back of the sketch only.

iceman?

[hgeek23]

Surely there is some tested method of preventing the deterioration of sketches?

[iceman57]

Sure there are standards about paper conservation for decades, recorded in every country. Main issue are costs to handle, especially when the document is already damaged and requires to be fixed
As an example, THE ART OF ANIME exhibition cumulated restoration costs were about $1,5000. As Bill (Sensei) wrote up Microchamber had been confirmed to me by the head of French Museum Office conservation department, issue in my country is to have a correct supply as production plant is in the USA and it seems to be a custom pain to import in Europe.

I will send the specs to my museum granted paper specialist, and then advise. She owes me a service for a nice Candy Candy sketch that I gave her as a bonus for her excellent work on some of my documents
Basically only Calcium Carbonate sounds important, rest is gaz propeller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_carbonate).

But... reading some other sources from printing industry, calcium carbonate is in use as a whitening agent, and to fill intersticial spaces between cellulose fibers.
In addition, used in painting industry they may be affected by chimical attacks (and then our good old vinegar syndrom sounds problematic).
I may say that such spray sounds like a car polish, making it more cute, but only on short term. For long term conservation sounds not appropriate.

[Shampoo]

er... is this spray that the framer mention like Fixative spray?
I use that when I want to preserve a charcoal/watercolor drawing or workable fixative
if I just want to keep the layer intact as I work on others.

[star-phoenix]

Well, obviously I am far from being any kind of expert on the matter of conservation. But, in my opinion, anything that requires any sort of chemical on paper should probably be avoided as much as possible. The other thing to consider is how they would be stored after the item is sprayed. Would they be stored in an air tight bag? Would they be left out in the open? Would they be placed in a frame with acid-free mattes and archival materials? And have there been any experiments conducted using these environment sources?

I, personally, would not try it on anything expensive.

[sensei]

Surely there is some tested method of preventing the deterioration of sketches?

There is:

http://www.conservationresources.com/Ma ... hamber.htm

While animation art was not used in these tests, the paper exposed to accellerated aging is similar in content and properties. The photos are pretty dramatic.

[iceman57]

I've similar pictures in a book about Acetate films (and then by extension anime cels).
As Star-Phoenix wrote up, spray something to be fast sold that's great, but spray a museum piece... Sounds harder...