Cleaning techniques: presentation of a case study of capillary washing at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil

Abstract

The article presents a case study of an aqueous capillary washing procedure applied to an engraving, based on the materials and techniques presented in the International Course on Paper Conservation in Latin America: Meeting East. These contents, included in the Paper conservation subject of the Advanced course on cultural property conservation and restoration at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, located in Brazil, were carried out by students, under guidance, in an experimentation and learning process. After a brief discussion on the principles of capillary washing and on the non-woven fabric Sontara® PrintMaster, the steps to create the capillary washing system and the results achieved are shown in the conclusions, highlighting some issues related to the modifications made to the system to achieve better results, the validity of the use of Sontara® PrintMaster non-woven fabric and deionized water in works on paper conservation procedures in Brazil.