Laser cleaning from a practical perspective: Cleaning tests of varied gilded-wood surfaces using Nd:YAG Compact Phoenix laser system

Abstract

When the project was begun, many research papers on the efficiency of laser cleaning referred mainly to hard materials (metal, stone, glass and ceramic) providing limited benefit to the gilding on wood, which is often very thin and fragile. Although several papers have been published on laser cleaning in gilded-wood conservation, none of them could provide us with sufficient information, particularly on the practical aspects of this method; hence the need to develop our own methodology has risen to solve the problems that were specific to the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 2006 the conservation department at the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased a Nd:YAG Lynton Phoenix® portable laser system delivering radiation at 1064nm and 532nm, with an energy output of up to 300mJ, a maximum repetition rate of 25Hz, and 10ns pulse length. The successful preliminary trials of cleaning several gilded surfaces initiated a project focusing on practical aspects of laser cleaning in order to determine its optimal conditions and to learn more about its benefits and limitations in comparison to conventional techniques. Several objects were selected on the basis of their types of gilding, surface coatings (water- and oil-gilding using gold leaf, silver leaf, brass leaf, and brass powder), deterioration and soiling. The practical tests proved that laser cleaning can be a useful alternative to solvent and mechanical cleaning in gilded-wood conservation, offering efficient ‘no-contact’ treatment option, not available with conventional cleaning methods. This paper presents ten case studies and discusses the outcomes of our investigations.

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