An investigation into the use of fabric paints for support fabrics in textile conservation

Abstract

Support fabrics are used in textile conservation in order to provide support for
weakened and damaged textiles. These supports are often coloured in order to infill any
loss in the object in order to help with interpretation and improve the aesthetic of the
object. This colouring can be done using several different methods, the most common
being dyeing, while using fabric paints is an alternative choice. It is important to ensure
that the materials used to colour the support fabric are stable, do not produce volatile
substances that could affect the object, and will not fade or lose colour too quickly. In
this paper three fabric paint manufacturers, Jacquard Neopaque®, Pebeo SetaSilk® and
Deka Silk® were tested for the presence of possible volatile substances, their light
fastness, and their wash fastness, as well as their ease of application and changes to
flexibility of the support fabrics. All three manufacturers performed well in the wash
fastness and light ageing tests. The Jacquard Neopaque® and Deka Silk® were
acceptable in the Oddy Test testing for volatiles, while the Pebeo SetaSilk® did not
perform as well. The flexibility tests suggest that different manufacturers might be
considered for different requirements.