Paul Talman, Objekt (Object) or Kugelbild (Ball image) (1964)

25 painted table-tennis balls mounted between 2 Plexiglas panels

This treatment project was done in 2021 as part of an Individualized Instruction course in the Conservation of Modern & Contemporary Materials with Reinhard Bek at Bek & Frohnert conservation studio. The artwork, consisting of opaque black and white Plexiglas panels and painted table-tennis balls, needed condition assessment and treatment after damage incurred during an exhibition. The historic Plexiglas, or Poly Methyl(methacrylate) (PMMA), panels had been scuffed from handling and sustained a deep scratch of approximately 1.25 cm on the black side, near the painted table tennis balls.

After assessing and documenting the damage, a condition report was written and treatment tests were made. The scratches were re-created on a test panel by dragging a dull screw loosely across the surface. Polishing tests were done with Novus products and several applicators, including cotton swabs, foam swabs, KimWipes, and Sontara aerospace grade wipes. The scratches could not be reduced sufficiently with polishing, so filling was tested. A recent publication on PMMA fill materials (Laganà, et. al. 2017) led to mockup tests with Regalrez 1094 and black dye used with resins to match the opaque black panel.

Once an ideal mixture of 40% Regalrez in Shell-Sol D38 (w/w) and application method were identified on a test panel, the painted table-tennis balls around one of the scratches were covered with Tyvek cones, and mylar sheeting protected the rest of the work. The scratches were filled with a fine paintbrush and allowed to dry completely before polishing with Novus products and Sontara aerospace grade wipes. Scuffs were also polished with Novus products and Sontara aerospace grade wipes.

After-treatment photo documentation was completed, and a treatment report submitted for the client.

Reference: Laganà, A., J. Langenbacher, R. Rivenc, M, Caro, V. Dion, and T. Learner. 2017. The future of looking younger: A new face for PMMA. Research into fill materials to repair poly(methyl methacrylate) in contemporary objects and photographs. In ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen, 4–8 September 2017, ed. J. Bridgland, art. 0906. Paris: International Council of Museums.