PUR Facts
Conservation of Polyurethane Foam in Art and Design
Thea van Oosten(Author)
Pallas Publications (Publisher)
Published on 24. June 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-90-8964-210-3 (ISBN)
Description
Flexible Polyurethane (PUR) foams, in use since the 1950s and familiar from furniture upholstery and other domestic textiles, can be found in museum collections in numerous art and design objects. However, these exhibits pose severe conservation problems due to the ageing of the foam caused by photo-oxidation, leading to discoloration, loss of strength and fl exibility, and fi nally the crumbling of the object. This defi nitive work outlines the most up-to-date methods of restoring fl exibility of older foams and protecting new foams from degradation by coating them with stabilising systems acting effectively as a 'sunblock'. The author, an experienced conservator, describes the research involved in developing the new methods and their impact on the visual, textural and chemical properties of treated PUR foams. One of the chapters details the preparation and application of the light stabilizing system to PUR foams.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 174 mm
ISBN-13
978-90-8964-210-3 (9789089642103)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€32.99
Available for download

E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€32.99
Available for download

E-Book
06/2011
1st Edition
Amsterdam University Press
€66.00
Available for download
Persons
thea van oosten is a senior conservation scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).
Content
Preface, Introduction, 1 Polyurethanes, manufacture and applications, 2 Chemistry, properties and degradation, 3 History of polyurethane foam conservation, 4 Ageing behaviour of polyurethane foam, 5 Assessing the condition of polyurethane foam, 6 Case studies, Acknowledgements, Glossary, General information, Bibliography