I saw this and though it was worthy of its own thread...


Collecting and documenting all of the information possible about an artifact before disassembling it is certainly a good idea. In addition, it would be wise to collect as much photographic evidence and records of the items service life prior to beginning any restoration. In this way, we can come to understand the artifact more completely and tell its story more effectively.

I think these standards are a good place to start: http://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/arch_stnds_6.htm
Also, some of these are helpful, particularly Preservation Note 11, Identifying Historical Paint Colors: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104184
But can anyone else offer techniques for documenting paint scheme information, especially in the situation mentioned where there are multiple layers of paint pulling away from the surface.


Stephen Piwowarski

We sand craters, document every layer, photograph it (in the past, with Kodachrome under controlled artificial light, now, generally digitally.

Each layer of lettering is traced, and photographed.

Where material is removable we remove samples, and hold in the archive (generally in old Kodak film cans in a zip lock bag....) Sometimes the samples are nothing more than a 1/4 x 1/4 bit of wood with all paint layers carved out of the car siding. We save any removed material which might contain information (then catalog it and wrap for storage in a way that allows us to find it later. Don't underestimate this step)

We match the paint colors found via Pantone (PMS) Munsell and via match cards using artist acrylic paints.

We keep notes... lots of notes.

In one case, we sanded and researched one end of a wooden passenger car, preserving all layers at the other end for future researchers. I have put a 1/8 plywood overlay over paint evidence, on a car end, over the door on a wooden car with open platforms. It is attached with 10 round head wood screws so can be removed to allow us to examine the underlying original paint.

Today, at work (a Victorian House) I was organizing samples of plaster, removed while adding heat, marking and wrapping, so it can be used later for paint sampling (on a work bench, in good light...)

The samples are only useful if notes are taken when they are removed, documenting where they came from.

Randy

Second tip for multiple layers of paint, all peeling...

We have applied artist acrylic gloss medium. It is water based, unlikely to discolor. We first applied a diluted coat, with a bit of dishwashing liquid (to break the surface tension) then additional layers as needed, until the entire surface is consolidated. We then sand through the matrix to identify layers, and generally preserve samples in the archives.

Randy