Wax On Wax Off How To Care For Bronze Sculpture: Antique Bronze Restoration, #2

By Lucy Branch

Care and Protect Your Bronze Sculpture

If you own a bronze sculpture, it's essential to understand this complex material to prevent its condition from declining. Advice on the internet about bronze cleaning can yield disastrous results, often causing irreversible damage to your bronze. Lucy Branch, an expert who has worked on many of the most famous bronze statues and monuments in the UK, will ensure this is not the fate of your treasured sculpture.

This guide is designed to be user-friendly and is packed with easy-to-follow advice you can trust. It covers both indoor and outdoor sculptures and provides clear instructions on maintenance and cleaning. It also includes tips on what to watch out for and how to prevent damage.

This book is for you if you want answers to questions like these:

 

• Which Protective Coating Should I Use?
• Should I Be Worried About This Corrosion?
• When Is Restoration Necessary?
• Is this Patina Original?
• Why Does My Bronze Keep Tarnishing?
• Should I Use Smart Water To Protect My Sculpture?
• Do I Need To Worry About Ultra-violet Light?
• Is It Normal For Patina To Flake?
• What Materials Should I Use To Clean My Bronze?
• What Time of Year Should My Sculpture Be Maintained?
• How Often Should My Sculpture Be Maintained?

• Language: English
• Publisher: ABL Press London
• Release date: Feb 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224382002

Book preview

Wax On Wax Off

WAX ON WAX OFF

HOW TO CARE FOR BRONZE SCULPTURE

LUCY BRANCH

ABL PRESS

Copyright © 2024 by ABL Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

CONTENTS

Introduction

I. Understanding Bronze

1. The Need for Proper Care and Maintenance

Why Do We Care?

Patina Change and Corrosion

Patina Damage

Physical Damage

When Is Restoration Necessary?

Visual Balance

Stability

What Does Conservation/Restoration Involve?

Concerns About Authenticity and Restoration

Artist’s Intent

History of the Object

Where Do I Find a Professional?

2. Bronze, Patina and Corrosion

Composition

Mode of Manufacture

Electroplated Bronzes

Surface

Original and Intentional Patina

Naturally Occurring Patina and Corrosion

Gilded Bronze

Bronze Corrosion

Corrosion Products and What Causes Them

The Presentation of Corrosion

Uniform Corrosion

Disfiguring Corrosion

Pitting Corrosion

What to Do About Corrosion

3. Environmental Impact on Bronze Sculpture

Indoor Bronze

Relative Humidity Matters

Pollutants in Our Homes

Display Cabinets

Dust

Outdoor Bronzes

Gardens: Urban and Rural

How Bad Can Organic Matter Be? After All, It’s Natural

Grass

Guano

Critters

Fountains

Limescale

Water Treatments

Automatic Watering Systems

4. Human Impact on Bronze Sculpture

Love (ahhh…)

Protection

Tape: Don’t Do it!

Good Intentions

But Brasso Is Made for Brass!

Other Commercial Cleaning Products

Nylon Pads

Steel Wool

Water, water everywhere

Dirty Water

Waste Not, Want Not

II. A Maintenance Routine

5. The Four Pillars of a Maintenance Routine

What Maintenance Is Not

Pillar 1: Dry Cleaning

Pillar 2: Observation and Documentation

Take Photos

Pillar 3: Preventive Conservation

Pillar 4: Practical Maintenance

A Step-by-Step Guide to Maintaining Sculpture

Removing Aged Wax

Further Tips on Removing Old Wax: For Indoor and Outdoor Bronzes

Wax On, Wax Off

The Brush Method

The Cloth Method

Specifics Relating to Outdoor Bronzes

Applying Protective Coating

Waxing Process

6. Protective Coatings

Types of Protective Coating

Wax

Natural or Synthetic

Hot Waxing

Lacquer

Oil

7. Materials

Hand Tools

Soap solution

White spirit

Wax

Textiles

Wire Brushes and Wire Wool

Power Tools

Burnishing Machines

Dremel

Drills

III. FAQs

8. Questions Everyone Asks

How Often Should Maintenance Be Carried Out?

What Time of Year Should My Sculpture Be Maintained?

How Often Should I Clean My Sculpture?

What If My Bronze Still Looks Dirty?

Which Solvents and When?

Why Are Insects All Over My Sculpture?

How Do I Remove Stubborn Grime and Tape Residues?

Expert Tip

Caution

Should I Be Worried About Cracks and Holes?

Holes

Is It Normal for a Bronze Patina to Flake or Run?

Running

When I Touch My Bronze, Should Pigment Come Off?

Why Does My Bronze Keep Tarnishing and Marking?

Why Has My Bronze Broken Out in Spots?

Where Could Chlorides Be Coming From?

When Might Rate of Change Speed Up?

Should I Maintain My Bronze Differently Depending on How It Was Patinated?

Why Is There Corrosion in the Crevices?

Can I Remove Corrosion with a Toothbrush?

How Do I Know What Type of Patina I’m Looking At?

When the Evidence Isn’t There

How Do I Know Which Coating My Bronze Has?

How Often Should I Renew the Protective Coating?

Do I Need to Worry About Ultraviolet Light?

Should I Use SmartWater to Protect My Sculpture?

What Should I Know When Transporting My Bronze?

How to Avoid Disaster

A Few Final Words

Postscript

Notes

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Hugh Chapman

Love Sculpture and Mystery?

Further Reading

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

‘We’ve had a slight incident with our bronze. It’s looking... a little strange. It sits on our window sill, and Matilde, our cleaning lady, noticed it was starting to go green. Her grandmother always used lemon juice to clean bronze, but it seems to have cleaned off all the colour. It looked like a copper shade for a day or two, but now it’s sort of patchy and streaky. I think we need your help.’

Considering my company specialises in the conservation and restoration of bronze sculpture, you might not imagine that my reaction to stories like this would be a heavy heart.

Shouldn’t I be rubbing my hands together in glee? After all, it puts food on my family’s table. But bronze is something mighty, and its original patina is unique. It has power over some of us; it can quicken the pulse each time we glance at it or even make the heart ache. I can speak with authority because I am a member of this tribe.

My compassion goes out to anyone who has made such a call to our business. I’m grateful that I can help, but I’d much rather earn my living by preventing this damage from occurring.

Caring for bronze doesn’t have to be done by a professional, but it does need some key knowledge. ‘Bronze is a tricky so and so’, as one of our clients put it so eloquently.

Understanding the material is essential. It is the nature of bronze to change. I’m not implying that this metal has a life of its own – it’s just chemistry. Copper, which makes up a large part of its composition, is a reactive metal that can combine with many substances in its environment. The outcome is degradation, but it’s not all bad news. It is also the copper that enables the creation of exquisite patinas, which make art lovers go weak at the knees.

But, you might be thinking, bronzes can’t be that sensitive; bronze sculptures have been around for thousands of years!

There are indeed true stories of sculptures being plucked from the sea, almost whole, after thousands of years. Many of the world’s cultures have used bronze to ensure the survival of their religious or political messages. It is hard to damage the physical form of a cast bronze sculpture, so they often remain standing through wars and revolutions. This longevity is also why some of the greatest sculptors in the world have worked in bronze: it makes their creations permanent. However, bronze sculpture combines surface and form. While the form is strong, the surface is fragile, so it’s essential to care for it properly.

Who Am I to Be Your Guide?

I’ve worked in conservation and restoration for over 25 years. As a child, I was a regular spare pair of hands around a studio full of bronze, so you can easily add another decade of experience onto that. My mother was a sculptor, and my father was a restorer, both specialising in... you guessed it: bronze.

Even with unfettered access to such practical experience, I was keen to broaden and deepen my academic knowledge. I studied History of Art with Material Studies at University College London. Then, after more than a decade of working in the field, I was accredited by The Institute of Conservation (Icon), which is a recognition of professional standards. After that, I began to long for a larger pond to swim in – one with other experts who might be able to challenge me. I joined the Victoria and Albert Museum and Royal College of Art as a mid-career Master’s student specialising in bronze conservation.

Antique Bronze Ltd, our family business, where I have worked full-time since 1998, has been fortunate enough to work on some of the most high-profile conservation projects in the UK, including Nelson’s Column, Eros, Cleopatra’s Needle and many others. In addition, we provide our knowledge and advice to councils, architects and institutions such as Historic Royal Palaces, English Heritage and Tate.

You are in safe hands with my advice, not only because of the time I’ve served in my industry but also because caring for bronze is my great privilege and passion. I am mad about sculpture – even when I’m not working on it, I spend my spare time writing about it and talking about it (I’m very handy at dinner parties to get rid of guests who’ve outstayed their welcome).

What to Expect from This Book

The theory and techniques I cover in Wax On, Wax Off won’t turn you into a master restorer. If you picked up this book hoping that,