At the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, we have many old street railway cars needing restoration. Restorations usually include refinishing of both inside and outside surfaces matching type and color as well as possible. But some old cars still have their original finishes albeit greatly deteriorated. A case in point is an 1885 Brill horsecar from New Bedford, Mass. There is elaborate decoration on the outside in several colors. The colors are still vivid but close examination reveals that the paint is flaking off and much has been lost. Has anyone had success in rebinding old paint so that what remains now can be preserved without further loss? Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

RJReich@aol.com

It has been a long time since I have been involved with this kind of delicate conservation work, but liquid nylon was used to reconsolidate and bind paint coatings years ago. There is no doubt a better way now. Speak with the conservator at a large state operated history museum somewhere nearby for modern techniques.

Dave

lathro19@idt.net

I think I've heard of clear polyurethane being used, probably applied with a spray, but I don't know any details about the process or technique involved to apply it.
Consider posting an article to let everyone know what you find out, it might come in handy for someone else too.

We (The SPCRR) had an 1882 narrow gauge passenger car with paint that could be knocked off the car side with the palm of our hand. We used a water based varnish (we originally tried artist gloss medium with identical results) which we diluted with water as needed, and added a small amount of liquid dish soap (to reduce the surface tension of the mixture.) We first wet the car side with a spray bottle containing water with dish soap, then applied the varnish mixture with a eye dropper. It was slow, but didn't knock off any additional paint. When this coating had dried we were able to apply several additional layers of the varnish mixture, each less diluted than before.

The result was the original material encapsulated in a modern varnish mixture. This was strong enough to allow us to sand though the layers, and exposed, photograph, and trace the 4 original paint layers we found under the house paint which was the top layer.

This will not leave a "restoration" quality surface. But it will harden the surface and preserve any surviving finish. Like any clear finish applied over a color it will brighten the existing finish, but not change the color. We only used it to stabilize the finish for research, and later removed the varnish and original finish as needed to smooth the surface for restoration, but this would also be appropriate to stabilize an unrestored car for long term preservation or for a item to be displayed in its current state of suspended decay. We have removed pieces of the car body which original finish, from cars before restoring them, to preserve original fabric, replacing the removed parts with new. If the original part was in poor condition, this would be an appropriate technique to preserve that finish.

One additional thought... The materials described are not UV light stabile. So any car or material that receives this treatment needs to be inside, out of sunlight.

http://WWW.SPCRR.org
hees@ix.netcom.com

Be sure to contact Merri Ferrell, Curator of the Carriage Collections at the Museums at Stony Brook, Long Island, NY. She has done extensive paint conservation work in this area and I'm sure many of her techniques are applicable to historic railroad vehicles.

As an aside, it's a shame that not more railroad museums consider preserving original surfaces on their historic rail vehicles and rolling stock. It's something that is common trade in most history museums but seldom practiced in railway preservation. Once the original surface is blasted away, it's pretty much gone forever, along with all of the interpretive and historic evidence. Kudos to Seashore Trolley Museum for their concern, awareness and foresight!

> We (The SPCRR) had an 1882 narrow gauge
> passenger car with paint that could be
> knocked off the car side with the palm of
> our hand. We used a water based varnish (we
> originally tried artist gloss medium with
> identical results) which we diluted with
> water as needed, and added a small amount of
> liquid dish soap (to reduce the surface
> tension of the mixture.) We first wet the
> car side with a spray bottle containing
> water with dish soap, then applied the
> varnish mixture with a eye dropper. It was
> slow, but didn't knock off any additional
> paint. When this coating had dried we were
> able to apply several additional layers of
> the varnish mixture, each less diluted than
> before.

> The result was the original material
> encapsulated in a modern varnish mixture.
> This was strong enough to allow us to sand
> though the layers, and exposed, photograph,
> and trace the 4 original paint layers we
> found under the house paint which was the
> top layer.

> This will not leave a
> "restoration" quality surface. But
> it will harden the surface and preserve any
> surviving finish. Like any clear finish
> applied over a color it will brighten the
> existing finish, but not change the color.
> We only used it to stabilize the finish for
> research, and later removed the varnish and
> original finish as needed to smooth the
> surface for restoration, but this would also
> be appropriate to stabilize an unrestored
> car for long term preservation or for a item
> to be displayed in its current state of
> suspended decay. We have removed pieces of
> the car body which original finish, from
> cars before restoring them, to preserve
> original fabric, replacing the removed parts
> with new. If the original part was in poor
> condition, this would be an appropriate
> technique to preserve that finish.

> One additional thought... The materials
> described are not UV light stabile. So any
> car or material that receives this treatment
> needs to be inside, out of sunlight.

> Be sure to contact Merri Ferrell, Curator of the Carriage Collections at the Museums at
> Stony Brook, Long Island, NY. She has done extensive paint conservation work in this
> area and I'm sure many of her techniques are applicable to historic railroad vehicles.

Ms. Ferrell did a wonderful presentation about the carrage conservation some years ago at one of the Railway History Preservation symposiums at Sacramento. I'm glad someone else also thought about suggesting that she be contacted. Many of the thoughts and experiences that she presented have direct application to railroad preservation.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net

On Sept. 30 of the past year, the Seashore Trolley Museum hosted a Seminar by Merri Ferrell titled "Restoration and Preservation of Wood Finishes and Decorations in Antique Vehicles". She presented a splendid slide show and dealt in depth with historical, artistic, and philosophical aspects of the matter. She examined nearly a dozen old cars having original finishes and decorations that we hope to preserve and advised us about styles and motifs as well as techniques used in the original production of these cars. Included was horsecar #10 from New Bedford mentioned in the first message of this thread and she assured us of its authenticity and value. However, as regards specific treatment, she was silent. She advised hiring a professional. "I leave the treatment to the experts". So, we are now looking for expert advice about actual treatments. Many thanks for the several responses.

RJReich@aol.com

Clearly you may want to consult the services of a professional conservator. The Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles conserved the original paint finish on a historic stage coach in the early 1990's; you may want to contact them to determine their approach.

> On Sept. 30 of the past year, the Seashore
> Trolley Museum hosted a Seminar by Merri
> Ferrell titled "Restoration and
> Preservation of Wood Finishes and
> Decorations in Antique Vehicles". She
> presented a splendid slide show and dealt in
> depth with historical, artistic, and
> philosophical aspects of the matter. She
> examined nearly a dozen old cars having
> original finishes and decorations that we
> hope to preserve and advised us about styles
> and motifs as well as techniques used in the
> original production of these cars. Included
> was horsecar #10 from New Bedford mentioned
> in the first message of this thread and she
> assured us of its authenticity and value.
> However, as regards specific treatment, she
> was silent. She advised hiring a
> professional. "I leave the treatment to
> the experts". So, we are now looking
> for expert advice about actual treatments.
> Many thanks for the several responses.


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