After doing some reading on paint formulations (and the numbers of nasty
chemicals in the most environmentally friendly paint is a constant
amazement to me who has practically lived in the stuff for 20 years) I have
come to a similar conclusion as Jack Thompson.  Latex paints are not
problem free but they ARE the most available, least toxic of the batch.  I
believe that CCI is doing some testing on the new "water based
polyurathane" paints, the new generation of limited off gassing paints. If
your interested I'll find out the name of the gentleman doing the testing.
It is possible that the results are published by now.
It is clear however that the paints to avoid in museum situations are the
alkyds (often called "oil based" by the maintenance staff).  They are used
primarily in trim paints because of their extreme hardness but what they do
to metal artifacts in enclosed spaces can be dramatic.

The greatest difficuly that I have run into is to rely on the paint
manufacturers to keep the formulation of their products consistant.  It
seems that every batch of the same latex has different ingrediants!

I have a beginner's primer on paint bibliography and will sent it to anyone
interested. It is not a comprehensive compendium but it will put the proper
lables on the proper cans.

Pat Strong
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Elmer's and Titebond have formaldehyde in them to extend shelf life.  It
>does go away in time.
>
>Latex?  A few years ago I spoke with Phil Ward, Canadian Conservation
>Institute, about this.  He told me that they were still detecting
>outgassing from latex paints after 18 months.
>
>What it comes down to is be reasonable.
>
>Soda pop, (Coca Cola, etc.) contains a bit of formaldehyde.  Potatoes,
>during digestion, create ethyl alcohol (why do people become tired afer
>eating a plate of fries?).
>
>The air around us contains more chemicals than I would like to enumerate.
>
>The important thing is to provide an escape path and reasonable air flow.
>
>The alternative is to keep artifacts in storage.
>
>It is true that cases can be built which mitigate against air-borne
>pollutants, but most institutions cannot afford them.
>
>Given that, what is the problem?
>
>Exhibit artifacts for a short period of time, and sleep peacefully.
>
>Jack C. Thompson
>Thompson Conservation Laboratory
>Portland, OR
>
>jct@Reed,edu

Pat Strong
Pre-program conservation studies
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