-----Messaggio originale----- Da: Mario Arnaldi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> A: Frank Evans <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: sundial list <[email protected]> Data: domenica 13 dicembre 1998 23.30 Oggetto: R: Conservation
> >Dear Frank, > > as I am a restorer, I should say first of all that this kind of works >should be done by people very expert in restoring antiquity. I say this >because I faced many times restoration made by paiters without the real >knoldge of the subject. And many times sundials lost their original coat of >paint, and more, they didn't respect the, let say, "calligraphy" of the >original author. >Said this lets go to your questions: > > >> The first concerns a dial dated 1700 on a house in Corbridge, >>Northumberland, England. It is a small stone dial with an iron gnomon, >>mounted on a wall. ... The 1700 dial, which is on a private house, >has also been >>painted, in white, but long ago. The owner is loath to use any modern >>materials on it without taking advice, having had earlier bad >>experiences of so-called conservation. > >--------- >Well I do not know the old and original English uses to paint a stone, but I >think that a stone should not be painted, or only inside le lines. But I >told you, maybe English diallers used to paint stones as well, I don't know >it. By the way if this is the use, I think that the last not original paint >should be removed, almost to prevent unaspected and unwanted accidents and >sort of chimical reactions. If you know exacly what kind of painture is the >existing one, my reply may be more specific, but since I don't know I cannot >tell you how is possible to stripp it off. > >There are many ways and material good to paint on stone, nevertheless my >advise is that the stone itself must be treated first to accept the cover >paint. Usually a syntetic resin, well dilute, should be enough; it depend by >the state of the stone. > > >> The second dial is very different. It is on the parish church >>at Dalton-le-Dale, south of Sunderland, in County Durham. It is in >>almost the last throes of disintegration. It would hardly be worth >>attention except that I am convinced that, although mounted on a >>thirteenth century wall the dial is from the eighth century... > >-------- >For the sundial at Dalton-le-Dale, my advise is to push the relative >authority. The sundial is a great historical one, and his restoration never >must be done by an unexperted dialler or restorer. The stone may stop his >course to damage, in an anough good way. But this operation must be done by >experts, because there are involved Syntetic resins and specific chimical >products made just for that work (to fight the chimical damage of the >stone). I cannot tell you the names, because surely in England they have >another. The right thing may be to move the authority, or to find the money >to finance the right restoration. The sundial, as you say, is really very >damaged (acid rains!!!) ad it coul be a very good thing to get a cast of >the dial. >The old way to do it was the plaster (gesso) matrix, nowaday they use a >liquid or pasted rubber to do it with very good results. > > >See you > >Mario >--------------------------------------------------------- >Mario Arnaldi >Viale Leonardo, 82 >48020 LIDO ADRIANO - Ravenna >Italy >E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] >--------------------------------------------------------- >
