One place where no museums are using authentic restoration techniques is paint. Epoxy and polyurethane paints were not available one hundred years ago.A paint job on a passenger car in the old days involved at least seven coats of paint and varnish and was not expected to last over two years. Most likely it would get another coat of varnish every six months. Labor was cheap.Today paint on a car under cover in a museum should last over thirty years or more. Thank goodness for modern surface coatings. No museum could afford to repaint cars every two years.fk

Good point. The time alone to paint equipment every two years - not possible.