Laser as a cleaning tool for the treatment of large-scale bronze monuments

Dajnowski, Andrzej

doi:10.1201/9780203882085.ch48

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…It must be noted that all aspects of this project were discussed with the owner. The importance of using laser ablation for this project was significant, because it allowed conservators to safely remove all surface deposits without disturbing surface topography of the bronze [4]. In particular, the G.C.…”

Section: Xrfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no available information on the condition of the sculpture, the storage environment, or the surface preparation for the first gilding. However, it is known that war and the economical situation in the USA at method for removing corrosion products from the bronze [4,5,10]. Other methods such as abrasive cleaning can leave behind or even embed chlorides inside metal pores and carry the risk of altering the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using the new G.C. Laser Cleaning System for cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding of a large outdoor bronze monument of Alexander Hamilton

Dajnowski¹,

Dajnowski²

2017

Proceedings of the International Conference LACONA XI

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In this paper, the conservation of the Alexander Hamilton Monument by John Angel from the Chicago Park District and the Ferguson Monument Fund will be discussed. The monument was installed in 1952 and was re-gilded in 1983. By 2015, over 80% of the gilding had failed and fallen off. Successful gilding of outdoor monuments requires very thorough surface preparation in order to remove all chlorides and active corrosion products. Inter-granular corrosion is a particular problem that is often difficult to resolve. In order for gilding to last, a bronze has to be as corrosion-free as possible. Traditional surface preparation techniques such as media blasting and ultra high-pressure washing carry the risk of causing physical changes to surface topography of the metal, closing surface pores and embedding salts. They may also leave active chlorides behind. In comparison, laser cleaning is more environmentally friendly as there is no contaminated media waste disposal and the precision and control during cleaning is unparalleled. The results of laser cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding using the new tunable 1064nm pulsed G.C. Laser Cleaning Systems, specifically designed for art conservation treatments, will be presented.

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Section: Xrfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using the new G.C. Laser Cleaning System for cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding of a large outdoor bronze monument of Alexander Hamilton

Dajnowski¹,

Dajnowski²

2017

Proceedings of the International Conference LACONA XI

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“…Another reason for removing green corrosion products was presence of copper chlorides in the surface corrosion indicating unstable nature of the green patina (Scott, 2002;Dajnowski, 2007). One more, but very important practical reason for patinating the sculpture brown was the fact that the sculpture is climbed by thousands of people every year and portions of the surface of the sculpture are abraded to bare metal and then quickly oxidize to a brown cuprite color.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chemical cleaning methods may leave behind chemical residues in surface pores and abrasive or mechanical methods inherently involve the risk of causing some level of damage to a surface (Dajnowski, 2007). Laser cleaning is precise and instantaneous (Fotakis et al, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

New trends in art conservation, the use of lasers to clean as well as generate an augmented reality representation of an iconic public monument in bronze: TheAlma Mater

Dajnowski¹,

Ross

Craig

et al. 2015

Studies in Conservation

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“…While much research has focused on copper alloys [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] and gilt surfaces [6,[14][15][16][17], equally significant work has sought to characterize the cleaning of iron alloys by lasers [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering effects on laser cleaning of a corroded iron alloy European scale armor

Yandrisevits¹,

Londero²,

Carò³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the International Conference LACONA XI

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This research seeks to optimize Nd:YAG laser cleaning parameters for the removal of corrosion products on historic iron alloy surfaces. This article presents the treatment of a 19th-century, European scale armor jazeran in the collection of the Arms and Armor Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Laser cleaning was coupled with traditional mechanical cleaning techniques to increase the time efficiency of treatment while best preserving the composite material construction of the artifact and the aesthetic expectations of treatment. Laser cleaning using an 8 ns, Q-switched, Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm was found more effective at corrosion removal and less damaging to the underlying metal surface than laser cleaning at 1064 nm. Wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering effects on the laser cleaning of the corroded iron alloy surfaces were investigated. The composition, morphology, and stratigraphy of the corrosion layers were characterized and the effects of laser cleaning of these corrosion layers at 1064 nm and 532 nm were examined using stereomicroscopy, scanning electron microscopy -energy dispersive spectroscopy and back-scattered and secondary electron imaging, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform -infrared spectroscopy, and thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation -gas chromatography -mass spectrometry. It was found that the success of the 532 nm laser cleaning is consistent with the green laser's more resonant energy absorption and decreased scattering length as compared to 1064 nm. These data were used to optimize the optical parameters of the laser energy interaction with the corrosion products to develop more effective and safer laser cleaning profiles for the removal of ferrous corrosion layers on the historic iron alloy surface.

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Laser as a cleaning tool for the treatment of large-scale bronze monuments

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Using the new G.C. Laser Cleaning System for cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding of a large outdoor bronze monument of Alexander Hamilton

Using the new G.C. Laser Cleaning System for cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding of a large outdoor bronze monument of Alexander Hamilton

New trends in art conservation, the use of lasers to clean as well as generate an augmented reality representation of an iconic public monument in bronze: TheAlma Mater

Wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering effects on laser cleaning of a corroded iron alloy European scale armor

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