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Renaissance Wax is a brand of microcrystalline wax
Renaissance Wax is a brand of microcrystalline wax polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
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used in antique restoration Conservation and restoration of movable cultural property is a term used to denote the conservation of movable cultural property items in libraries, archives, museums and private collections. Conservation encompasses all the actions taken toward the ...
and museum conservation around the world. Commonly used to polish and conserve metal objects, it is also used on gemstones and such organic materials as wood, ivory, and tortoiseshell. The product is sometimes used by reenactor
Reenactment or re-enactment may refer to:
Legislation
* Consolidation bill, a bill that consolidates several Acts of Parliament into a single Act in the United Kingdom
* Repeal with reenactment, where a law is replaced with one more suitable
Oth ...
s to protect armor and weapons. Waxes are more protective and longer-lasting than oil, especially for swords and helmets that are frequently touched by human hands. It has recently been introduced in the world of guitar building, as a finish that protects and gives colour to the wood.
Wax coatings for conservation are most widely, and least controversially, applied to metals. This has several objectives: to produce a barrier that excludes moisture and oxygen from the metal surface, to preclude the introduction of contaminating elements by handling, and to provide a protective layer over anti-corrosion
In chemistry, a corrosion inhibitor or anti-corrosive is a chemical compound that, when added to a liquid or gas, decreases the corrosion rate of a material, typically a metal or an alloy, that comes into contact with the fluid. The effectiveness ...
undercoatings.
Microcrystalline waxes used on ethnographic metal objects are discouraged, as they may require extensive treatment for removal.
Renaissance wax is used to protect metals such as silver, brass and copper from tarnishing, on collections of all types of metals (old coins, locks and keys, arms and armour both original and replica), on both the wood and metal surfaces of vintage cars and musical instruments, on bronze sculptures inside the home and outside exposed to the elements, on marble and granite worktops to prevent staining and on smooth leather items.
Formulation
Renaissance Wax was developed in the British Museum Research Laboratory by Dr A E A Werner in the late 1950s. It is manufactured by Picreator Enterprises Ltd. Earlier wax polishes based onbeeswax
Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...
and carnauba wax
Carnauba (; pt, carnaúba ), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the carnauba palm '' Copernicia prunifera'' (synonym: ''Copernicia cerifera''), a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of ...
either contained acids or became acidic over time. Renaissance Wax is based on more stable microcrystalline waxes refined from crude oil.
Renaissance Wax contains polyethylene waxes. Some other microcrystalline waxes intended for conservation use do not contain these.
See also
*Conservation-restoration of cultural heritage
The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include pre ...
References
{{reflist Waxes Conservation and restoration materials