this page is still in experimental construction.
A collection of professional writings on antique conservation.
A Conservator: the business of
Whether or not your business should provide conservation services is an option. There may be no necessity to try to provide such a service, however, one at least ought to educate themselves well enough to recognize what conservation is and when it should be advised and applied.
Perhaps a better word for conservation would be simply preservation.
Some times the best solution is to do little or nothing to the artifact itself.
Educating the client/owner to this fact may be the best approach.
To be a conservator one needs to:
Acquire the knowledge of when, why, and how to preserve and conserve.
Provide education and advice to the customer/client based on honest and accurate info.
Consider treatment to prevent further deterioration and loss of original evidence.
Preserve evidence and document before and after details of treatments.
The rules of conservation:
Do no harm.
Know your own limits and abilities, and don't exceed them.
Avoid the urge to “improve” an object.
Understand what you are working on and the risks to its nature and value.
Preserve evidence.
Use reversible methods whenever possible (if not, maybe avoid this treatment).
Document everything, what and why you did or didn't do.
Educate the client and other associates.
How to make money via conservation: Charge for services such as:
Education: often one can make more money giving advice than doing hands-on treatment.
Give lectures, advice, and write. Write a report on the artifact for the client or
publication.
Provide a “survey” (i.e.: a report of condition, repairs, originality of an object),
(similar to a house or boat inspection).
Provide appraisals (not legitimately part of conservation, but it can be part of education).
Misc. Notes:
Museums require the conservation approach. Being associated with a local museum can be a BIG feather in your business’s cap.
Owners/customers want to be assured that their artifacts are being properly looked after.
Determine what artifacts should receive "conservation" treatment. Perhaps not all warrant this effort. When we sacrifice these lessor items and don’t provide a conservative treatment, those items that remain may one day become so rare and thus be more valuable. Lessor projects are excellent opportunities to gain experience in the conservation realm and still provide care to these items.
One of the important reasons conservators try to preserve as much original evidence is that often the artifact is the only thing that can speak for itself. The remaining evidence it still possesses can provide a lot of information that would otherwise not exist.
The usual struggle is between having an artifact in its original state, however good or bad that might be, or having something that looks and functions well. Often these are mutually exclusive states. A conservator’s job is to preserve evidence and keep something from deteriorating any further. To the degree that one wanders from this goal, you are then attending to some other goal like beauty or function that usually isn’t in the artifact's interest. I often say that one can “change” the artifact, but in so doing you just make every other artifact that is left original more valuable.
Part of a conservator’s mission is to explain to those interested parties that it is often easier and better to change the owner/client’s attitude than to change the artifact.
Don’t confuse restoration with conservation. Restoration is a risky attempt to return an artifact to some ill-conceived idea of newness.
If it is deemed best to not alter an artifact, a billable service can still be done by providing a minimally invasive conservation treatment, and do a report on the artifact. Most clients who care for their objects are willing to pay for the proper care and education associated with their upkeep.
###############################################################################
Thoughts on Conservation Treatments of Historic Handmade Clocks:
Conservation is a particular niche in the field of clock repair. While knowledge of the benefits of conservation is desirable for the clockmaker and his clients, the implementation of such treatments remains to be only one of the options available. A general knowledge of clock repair is helpful, but on the issue of conservation a thorough knowledge of conservation practices is essential. On historically valuable and museum-quality pieces, it is advantageous to the clock repairer to understand when a conservational approach is recommended. When deciding what treatment methods to take, one should always keep foremost in mind the integrity of the clock. But other considerations such as avoiding legal liabilities from real or perceived damages that non-conservational repairs may have, give a reason for the repairer to familiarize himself with conservational options.
Definitions:
Repair: A treatment to fix the clock in some way, with no particular regard to originality or appropriate technique.
Restore: An attempt to return the clock to its "original" condition. May or may not use traditional materials and techniques.
Conserve: To preserve the clock and its evidence, often as is. “Improvements” (changes to enhance its function, beauty, style or value) are not recommended. Treatment may also include efforts to stop further deterioration. Documentation including treatment methods is important.
Service treatment and repairs:
The conservational approach to clock repair is primarily focused on the preservation of evidence of the clock as it is (not necessarily as it was, or as owners/clients want it to be). At some point a determination should be if it is in the best interest of the clock to be run or not. With a conservational approach, the primary consideration should NOT be to keep the clock running. That might be an option but not the main goal. Consideration should also be given to help create conditions to prevent further deterioration of the artifact. As in medicine, a good rule to follow is to "do no harm". Education of the client/ owner is an important role in assuring the future preservation of the clock.
The clock conservator must resist the temptation to do "everything possible" to the clock. Highly polished, perfectly smooth surfaces may look nice but could often be "over restorations" and may not reflect the original intentions and abilities of its origins. Such surface treatment also removes sometimes, valuable surface material (such as textures or construction details). Arbitrarily boring out original bush holes and installing oversize bushings may just be removing still usable surfaces and remove evidence of original bush techniques. Replacing parts when repairs will do, creates a permanent loss of originality and lessens value.
Treatments may include the use of traditional materials and techniques, but not necessarily so. Generally, a conservator is not trying to restore the clock to its perceived original condition (if that were even actually possible). All treatment should be documented, and repairs/replacements labeled or otherwise identified. When replacement parts are necessary, the original part should be labeled and kept with the clock. Some argue that replacement materials should be different (such as different brass alloys) from the original to help future observers determine what is original and not. Most treatments should involve materials and methods that need to be reversible (like low melt solder instead of high temp hard solder) so that the clock is not permanently changed. Weight cables should be original gut or nylon. On long-duration clocks where stronger cables are desired, do not use bare metal cables. Brass or steel cables coated with plastic sheathing are recommended to prevent friction abrasion on the winding drums.
One Important note: It is an unfortunate but frequent practice for clock repairers to leave their name, dates, or identification numbers permanently on the clocks they repair…. sometimes this is done artfully, but often grossly. There are lots of explanations for this, but all are lacking. Be sure to refrain from such efforts that deface or mark clocks in any way.
Cleaning: Specifically cast brass and hand hammer hardened brass items.
Historic brass items were typically made by casting molten brass into molds to form the desired shape. This cast brass could be further worked by hand hammering it to achieve a harder, more durable and brittle material. Casting and hammering created metallurgical structure and stresses not found in the more modern machined brass. After the industrial revolution was underway (in the mid -1800’s), much of the casting and hand hammer hardening was replaced by machine formed items, thus lessening some of the concerns mentioned here.
Historically, brass items and clocks specifically, were cleaned by hand, using abrasives such as powdered chalk and soft brushes and other gentle hand polishing processes. Typically, today they are cleaned by soaking them in solvent solutions containing ammonia, and/or running them through an ultra-sound cleaning machine. In this process, ammonia is used to etch the surface of brass and thus remove tarnish and leave a shiny surface without laborious intensive manual cleaning. Ultrasound creates a tiny vibration to dislodge dirt from the surface. This is often acceptable for the more modern factory-made clocks, but NOT recommended for early hand made brass clocks. Most museums and conservation labs recognize that this process is detrimental to earlier hand made cast brass and hammer hardened brass parts including clock movements. Research now shows that ammonia and similar chemicals do irreversible damage to this hand-worked brass. The vibrations of the ultrasound also contribute to “work hardening” (making more brittle) the brass. The older methods of hand cleaning and polishing remain the best way to clean brass, but this method creates some problems as well, in that it wears away minute amounts of the brass surface and if done regularly (most clocks are cleaned every ten to twenty years), will eventually wear away features of the movement.
The basic concept here is to avoid any cleaners that contain ammonia, acids, and other Amine type substances (which as of this writing, all commercial clock and brass cleaning products have). Post rinsing is helpful but not sufficient to remove these chemicals and the damage they do.
Abrasive cleanings also are problematic, as they abrade historic surfaces away, can leave grit on wear surfaces and subject fragile parts to excessive stress.
The above opinion is controversial and perhaps results in unpopular but necessary alternatives. What are the appropriate alternatives as of this date?
1. Do nothing. Leave the movement as it is, even if the clock is unable to operate. Often, doing nothing is preferable to doing the wrong thing. Most museums will opt for this approach. Caution, do not continually run a dirty clock movement.
Or:
2. Dry clean the movement by hand, with fine powdered chalk and natural bristle brushes as done for centuries past. This is a very time consuming and labor-intensive process and must be done with skill and care to avoid damaging fragile parts. Some abrasion of surfaces will occur, but this practice avoids exposing the brass to the negative effect of ammonia and ultrasound.
Or:
3. Clean the movement with only mineral spirits (and or alcohol) and a soft, non-metallic brush, to remove old lubricants. Clean bushes and pivots with peg wood. On other brass surfaces, do not attempt to remove light tarnish or to bring to a high polish. Tarnish may be unsightly, but usually will not hinder proper operation.
While these suggestions may seem overly conservative, following them always leaves the option for more aggressive and risky treatments at a future time, if deemed necessary. Until better options for cleaning brass arrive, it is best to take a conservative approach with this controversial issue.
For further insight and updates on this issue, consult an experienced expert in this field of conservation (of metals particularly).
An article from another source:
Clock Cleaning Techniques
Unlike a painting or a sculpture that can have its surface "easily" cleaned, a clock movement has to be completely disassembled, then cleaned of surface accretions, and then re-assembled (usually it is not as simple as this although we all wish it were so!). Clock movements can consist of up to 500 individual components and each component has a series of surfaces that need to be cleaned. Effective and safe cleaning cannot be done by the "dip and swish" method! And, cleaning should not be done using an ultrasonic cleaner: it must be done by hand.
The preferred cleaning solution used by most clock repairers is an aqueous ammoniated cleaner either pre-manufactured or homemade. In any case, exposing stressed brass (most clock components contain stresses) to ammoniated cleaning solutions will produce a known and verifiable effect: Stress Corrosion Cracking(SCC). SCC may not happen instantaneously but it will happen and it is not reversible. Some repairers use a pre-manufactured "non-ammoniated" cleaner, but instead of ammonia, it contains one of the following relatives of ammonia: "mono" or "di" or "tri" ethanolamine. These particular chemicals are also capable (and have been documented as causing) of producing SCC. This means that you have to ensure that your object is cleaned in a manner that is harmless to your object. (Ref: Ammoniated cleaning solutions by James Moss: American Horological Times, Volume 22, Number 2, February 1998; British Horological Journal, Volume 139, Number 8.)
For cleaning a clock movement, I presently use hydrocarbons and alcohols in combination with manual labor, fine brass and steel brushes (only occasionally), stiff bristle non-metallic brushes (all of the time) and sharpened pieces of wood called peg wood: I do not use an ultrasonic. If steel brushes need to be used, they should only be used on steel components: likewise brass brushes should only be used on brass components because if a brass brush is used on a steel surface, corrosion cells can be set up, and over the long term and in the right conditions, corrosion can take place. Restricted use of the metallic brushes is necessary as they will remove any protective oxide layers even with careful use.
For more specific info. on conservation of clocks and cleaning: go to this website by James Moss:http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/moss/concerns.html
Also: on stress corrosion cracking of brass see websites such as: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass
Notes:
An argument can be made to NOT clean all parts of a clock. This thinking points out that aged surfaces are important evidence of authenticity. There is a long history of reproduction parts and entire movements and cases being made. Restorers and fakers have become very adept at fooling even the experienced eye. Authentic aged surfaces are hard to reproduce so they become important aids in telling what is new or old. Surfaces such as dial faces, dial backs, bells, case insides, bottoms, and backs are good areas which could arguably be left as it. The current trend in the high-end antique market is that clocks that still have their entire historic surfaces are bringing the highest prices. Clock shops and owners are increasingly becoming aware of the liabilities of degrading values by altering original surfaces.
For museums and historic houses and large private collections, one might offer a specific service designed to preserve and maintain the long-term viability of an artifact. All work undertaken in this area is usually after detailed and ongoing discussions with curators and clients.
In general, museum artifacts are treated in a less aggressive manner than clocks in general use. Every effort is made to held treatments to the exacting criteria laid down by museum conservators.
Cleaning should be carried out using a conservative approach. And it is recommended to take a much less aggressive view on repairing bushes and pivots. A report should be prepared including such items as description, identification, observations of condition, previous repairs, etc. Also included could be recommendations on future care and maintenance procedures and possibly such data as wheel count, and a measurement of springs and other related items. Measurements are also made of the various plates, any marks made by previous repairers. Where relevant or possible, photographs should be taken at each stage.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Click on the labels at the top right of the page for more subjects.