Cannon | MacInnes

After Conservation. This large Art Deco panel once was displayed in the Mayfair Cinema on the South side of Glasgow. In 2010 it will be displayed within the new Riverside Museum on the Clydeside.

The back of the panel is unpainted and surprisingly opaque white. The red glass from the front is an unusual dense red flash on white.

After a condition report was drawn up, the panel was carefully dismantled using a Feinn oscillator to minimise pressure during lead cutting.

The whole panel was left intact, with only a few, specific areas dismantled. All the original lead was kept for re-use after conservation.

The surface of the glass was covered with an unknown residue over the opaque unpainted glass as well as the painted faces. Tests were done on the unpainted glass to discover the best solvent, before working on the dirty faces. The paint was stable.

Some of the broken glass had missing areas, which had to be filled with coloured and opacified epoxy resin which closely resembled the original glass.

The glass was joined together with Hxtyl epoxy resin, BASF dry coloured pigments, and Zinc White opacifier.

Some pieces of glass were broken into as many as nine, very tiny pieces.

After several attempts, a good match was made for both the white base glass and the top red flash.

After all the broken glass was conserved, the whole panel was re-assembled, framed, and boxed, ready for display. The frames were made by IWF ltd. (See "The Mayfair" project)

During the working process, a condition report was drawn up by hand, to note any faults which would require attention. This was later transferred to a digital illustration.