Can you handle restoration work?

The professional restoration expert is called upon to restore a valued article that is in its present condition not wearable, not usable and valueless. The technique used to restore such an article requires skill in dealing with fragile fabrics using advanced spotting, drycleaning and wetcleaning techniques. Some of you may have read in the papers about Colonel Sanders (the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken) and his famous white suits that he used to cook in. The suits were cleaned and restored professionally. The suits were brought to auction and sold for $82,000.00. The following is the history of the restoration:

I was contacted by Darlene Pfeiffer who was previously married to the late Colonel Sanders. She wanted my opinion and advice on the best way of restoring the suits. I recommended to her that Radiant Leather Care Cleaners in Riviera Beach, Florida were the best qualified to handle this project for her. I met with Darlene Pfeiffer and Steve Jennings (Owner of Radiant Leather Care). After consulting with her, she was satisfied that the garments would get the best care possible and immediately left the suits with Steve Jennings. Steve and his General Manager Rick Watson proceeded to handle the suits as follows:

2 white suits were 100% wool and 1 white jacket was 100% linen. The original condition of the suits was as follows:

• oxidized oil stains
• tannin stains
• heavy perspiration and protein stains
• oxidation and yellowing
• mildew

STAIN AND RESTORATION PROCEDURE

• Oil Stains – Due to the high oxidation of the oil stains we had to use some strong and aggressive oily type paint removers. To aid the stain removal process we also had to add some ammonia to the oily type paint remover which aided in the breakdown of the oxidized oil. We applied mechanical action aggressively yet cautiously so as not to affect the texture of the fabric. This procedure was carefully tested to make sure it was safe and did not change the color of the fabrics.
• Tannin stain removal – The tannin stain removal process involved using the entire tannin stain procedure. Highly effective was acetic acid (28%), oxalic acid and last traces of the stains were removed by hydrogen peroxide (6%) and ammonia. We used glycerin as a lubricant on the white wool suits to avoid light clean areas caused by wetside spotting.
• The protein staining was handled by digestive methods and alkaline spotting agents.
• Mildew stains – We used diluted sodium hypochlorite on the linen jacket. We could not use chloride bleach on the wool suits so we opted to use potassium permanganate. We diluted the permanganate to avoid yellowing of the wool. After stain removal we neutralized the permanganate with peroxide and acetic acid.
• Oxidation – We did not opt to clean the wool suits because we did not want to change the look and feel of the fabric in any way. We removed the yellowing and oxidation by spraying the affected areas with the 3% hydrogen peroxide and exposing it to light and well vented air circulation. The linen jacket was wetcleaned in a sodium perborate bath for 24 hours. The garment was rinsed and neutralized with an acetic acid bath.
• We also drycleaned the garments using fresh cleaned charged solvent with a texturing agent added.
• We used special tensioning equipment and hand finishing as a final touch up.

Results – The end results of the project were garments that were 99% free of stains and oxidation. We packed the garments in an acid free box with acid free paper.

PROJECT #2

A cleaner sent an antique needlepoint to me that was accidentally left under his spotting board, got wet and bled. Steve Jennings and Rick Watson handled the project. The restoration procedure involved the following:

A titanium sulphate stripper bath was diluted to prevent the stripper from attacking the base dye on the needlepoint threads. The needlepoint was immersed in a stripper bath for a few seconds, pulled out, rinsed and soured. The souring bath was used to prevent further bleeding of the threads.

WEDDING GOWNS

The season for wedding gowns is getting under way. Some cleaners handle wedding gowns themselves and some cleaners give them out to professional wedding gown specialists. You should be aware that 90% of wedding gowns received can be wetcleaned. Remember to spot satin fabrics inside out to prevent fabric chafing. When drycleaning wedding gowns, make sure that you carefully test the trimmings and only use pure solvent to prevent redeposition of soil.

PRESERVATION

There is much confusion on how a wedding gown should be preserved. In my opinion, the gown should be stored in an acid free box with acid free paper. In my dealings with the many museums, it was always agreed that this was the best and only acceptable method. Some experts advocate the following which I don’t agree with:

• nitrogen injection – I don’t argue whether nitrogen injection helps preservation but it would be impossible to keep nitrogen stable in a porous wedding gown box. The gas present in the box would escape shortly after injection.
• Vacuum sealing – How can you vacuum seal a box? The outside air pressure would rapidly collapse the box. Try this experiment by breathing in to remove the air from a paper bag and the paper bag rapidly collapses.
• Plastic sealing – Plastic contributes to yellowing. If I had ever put plastic over any garment that I dealt with from the museums, they would not feel comfortable dealing with me because they would feel that I was not an expert. When garments are trapped in plastic, two things occur. (1) The air trapped tends to pick up moisture which promotes yellowing and mildew. Mildew grows at humidity levels above 70% and temperatures of 82°F, which is created by the plastic. (2) Plastic itself release chemicals that contribute to yellowing.

WHAT TO ADVISE A CUSTOMER ABOUT STORING GOWNS

• Never store gowns in an attic.
• If you store gowns in a closet make sure that you occasionally leave the closet door open. Getting proper air flow is important in keeping garments mildew free. Leaving low wattage lights on in the closet is suggested in the summer to keep the garments mildew free.
• Keep the garments away from heat.

If you have preservation problems you can contact Steve Jennings at Radiant Cleaners at a toll free number which is 800-544-1477 or me (Dan Eisen) at 772-340-0909 or at my email site – cleandan@adelphia.net.