Resistance of Beeswax to Organic Solvents from a Conservator’s Perspective

The use of organic solvents considerably widens the possibilities for the conservation treatment of historic beeswax artifacts, e.g. the choice of effective cleaning methods, adhesives, consolidants, and varnishes. However, their use should always be considered carefully, since most of them dissolve at least some components of the original material. In an attempt to help conservators make well-informed decisions in this respect, the interactions of selected organic solvents with beeswax under various conditions were studied. Besides the importance of solvent type, the most carefully studied aspects were the effect of temperature, exposure duration, and the relative amount of solvent used. The surface action of the solvents on beeswax was monitored by optical microscopy, and the dissolved fraction of the individual components of beeswax was measured both quantitatively, using gravimetry, and qualitatively, using the GC-MS method. It was confirmed that all of the selected organic solvents dissolve beeswax to a certain extent. The authors believe, however, that by optimizing working conditions, the use of some of these solvents can be relatively safe and justifiable in many situations.