Clear Coat: Renaissance Wax et al.
Hi everyone,
Long time listener, first time caller.
I'm wondering if anyone has experience with using Renaissance Wax as a clear coat on their brass mounts? I'm especially interested in Oddy test results for the wax if anyone has it? It finishes really nicely on top of the brass patina and I'm hoping to use it for a new fleet of mounts for ceramic works. However, I have some concerns about the lack of available info online about its safety around artifacts.
If I can't get any corroboration on how safe it is, I'm looking into other Oddy tested clear coats. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Cheers!
Jack McCombe
Installations Manager
The Gardiner Museum, Toronto
88 Views
Hi Jack,
What a timely question! This coating question (for brass mounts) is a question we've been exploring lately and I love your outside the box thinking here!
If you haven't already, have a look at the April Collaborative Forum the IMF co-hosted with the AIC-MWG to begin exploring this mount coating topic. We didn't speak specifically about your idea, but there might be something else of interest: https://www.mountmakersforum.net/materials/mountmaterialscollaboration
I gave a short talk on easy ways to mix your own acrylic coating that allows us to bypass complex proprietary recipes and long dry times by using already-approved conservation materials: https://youtu.be/kEQcMZczGLs?si=sY_OW9sZKSV1r3um&t=2834
Also, I just got back from AIC, where I asked a few conservators about your idea for using the Renaissance wax. Sorry to say that I didn't find any specific testing info, but it is a common material used in outdoor sculpture. There were questions about the benefits of the wax in this application though. It kind of boils down to asking oneself why we are coating the brass at all. Does the mount even need a coating? If the coating goal is to seal the metal, wax is pretty porous, so wouldn't be the best solid barrier. If the purpose is to create a nice surface to faux paint, wax might resist many water-based paints and padding adhesives. And depending on the material the mount would be contacting (if it is direct contacting), it might be un-advised to have the wax in direct contact for tackiness reasons. If this is purely aesthetic, and you are going for a specific patina, perhaps a chemical patina or washes of acrylic paint or Gamblin colors might work?
But I am not a chemist, conservator or expert in waxes though, so I am basically just passing on more questions:) If any of our conservation colleagues out there want to weigh in with knowledge about testing or practical suggestions regarding using Renaissance wax as a brass mount coating, please let us know!
Hope this helps,
Shelly