Study of Surface Treatments for Restoring Flexibility in Leather Conservation: Focusing on the Physical Properties of Treated Leather

In this study, to investigate the physical properties of surface treatments for restoring the flexibility in leather conservation, six surface treatments, including NYPL(New York Public Library) leather dressing, Polymerized oil, SC6000, Ester wax, Klucel G(2% w/v in ethanol) and Cellugel were selected and applied to artificially aged leather specimens and subjected to aging experiments again, and then observed by visual and microscopic observation, color changes and flexibility. As a result, Klucel G, which is used to treat Red-rot, showed the best results in terms of dimension and color change, and also showed a good effect in improving flexibility. Polymerized oil is also considered to be a suitable surface treatment that maintains flexibility in the long term, although it has a large color change.