Modification of the methodology developed for the initial experiment, especially with regards to sample preparation, posed a challenge for the project team. Although the chemical properties of surfactants are known, their long-term stability under natural and artificial aging conditions has not been studied. For that reason, two parallel studies are being carried out in the Analytical Laboratory of the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library, to evaluate the deterioration products of a number of surfactants used in surface cleaning on representative films, including a linseed oil film. The rate of change of the nonvolatile surfactants to more volatile degradation products is currently being examined. Based on the project's already completed work measuring the amount of gel component residues, the artificial aging tests are being repeated, with sampling at shorter time intervals.
Preliminary results indicate that the surfactants degrade rather quickly.
These studies will provide conservators with the necessary information to help them select an appropriate surfactant for a gel formulation. Ometer in the GCI scientific laboratories. The films were subjected to 12 weeks of artificial aging, simulating a museum environment. The amount of radioactivity decreased tenfold during the eight-week test period of continuous exposure. This indicates that the Ethomeen is prone to decomposition by ultraviolet radiation and that some low-molecular products of the decomposition process evaporate from the irradiated paint surface.