The Swedish National Heritage Board together with The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and the research institute Swerea KIMAB will start a project within the field of preservation of modern materials. The project Joining Plastic Together - What Happens Over Time will investigate the impact of adhesives for treating rigid polystyrene in the museum environment and consider such factors as stability, impact on original material, working properties, aesthetics and ageing of an adhesive join.
Questions the project will focus on are:
- How stable are the adhesives that are used by conservators? What will happen to the join upon ageing?
- What effect do the adhesives have on the original material? What chemical and mechanical changes will take place?
- How suitable and compatible are the adhesives with this kind of plastic?
Methods that will be used before and after ageing are visual assessment, color measurements, FTIR, SEM, tensile testing, assessment of working properties and hardness testing.
Contact:
Thea Winther
Conservator, MSc
Swedish National Heritage Board
Image credits: From the exhibition Plast! at Nordiska Museet, Stockholm, 2010