THE EFFECT OF CARBOGEL POULTICES ON PINE WOOD

Carbogel, a "polyacrylic acid", has been applied for cleaning different materials in the field of archaeological conservation, but it was rarely applied on wooden artifacts, and its effect on wood has not been assessed. Therefore the aim of this paper is to study the effects of carbogel poultices on one type of wood, namely pine wood, a softwood commonly used in many countries around the world throughout history. Three different Carbogel poultices were prepared by mixing in: distilled water, water and ethyl alcohol and water and acetone. Wood samples were covered with the different carbogel mixtures for 5, 15 and 30 minutes. To assess the long term effect of Carbogel on the treated wood, samples were exposed to accelerated heat ageing and humidity. Infrared spectroscopy analyses of treated and aged wood were conducted to study the effect of the poultices on wood components. Color change measurements and visual examination using a digital microscope were recorded. The results obtained indicated that carbogel can be safely applied in cleaning wooden artifacts made of softwoods, because its effect on wood components is minute and color change is negligible.