Syntetpolymerbaserade Produkter Inom Svensk Målerikonservering

Abstract

This thesis is about synthetic polymers and polymeric products used in the Swedish painting conservation field. The aim has been to accumulate and systematize facts about the synthetic polymers used in conservation: to describe the chemistry of the products, their manufacture and their field of uses. Thereby, I hope that the thesis also will function as a practical user-guide to synthetic products used in the field. The research questions used in the study are: How is the chemistry of these conservation products? What kind of synthetic polymers are used? What additives are used? Do the polymers and the products affect the original material and how do they degrade? Are they reversible? How toxic are they? The thesis consists of two parts. The first part concerns polymeric chemistry in general. It is manly based on textbooks in polymeric chemistry and techniques, and research from the field of conservation. The second part is based on a questionnaire sent to Swedish conservation institutes in order to acquire information about what products are used in conservation. The synthetic polymers are then listed with reference to their product type, as it is described in materials safety data sheets from the producers and articles describing synthetic polymers used in conservation.