Pomptom Furnace - Frame
Before Treatment
We observed areas of heavy overpaint, abrasion, and dirt on the frame. All four large corner ornaments have heavy damage with clumsy repairs. The inner corners of the frame are cracked and separating up to the ornamentation.
Surface Cleaning
Image - Half cleaned corner
The surface of the frame is extremely dirty and has been previously overpainted. The original gilding or metallic paint on the textured inner surface of the frame was significantly abraded during past cleaning. We removed this heavy surface dirt and overpaint with the appropriate solvents, detergents, and/or aqueous materials.
Recasting Missing Pieces
Image - Silicone curing to make new molds
Previous corner repairs and castings that were poorly done were mechanically removed with a scalpel and dental picks. Loose ornamentation, gesso and gilding were consolidated with synthetic varnish. We recast missing ornamentation using two parts carve-able epoxy resin and reattached with a conservation grade adhesive.
Fills & Inpainting
Image - new casts (purple) and fills (yellow)
Any losses still present were then filled gesso and sealed with a synthetic varnish. New ornamentation, abrasions, and losses were inpainted with Mica powders and conservation grade paints and a new varnish coating was applied afterwards.
