Cleaning

Joyce H. Townsend, PhD, FIIC, ACR, is Series Editor for the updated Science for Conservators series. She has been IIC Director of Publications for over ten years and a conservation scientist for over four decades, more than three of them spent at Tate in London, UK, where she specialises in microscopical methods for the analysis of paint and the interpretation of the techniques of British artists working in oil and watercolour, as well as microfading and X-ray fluorescence studies for works on paper. She has published widely for a range of audiences. Since 2019 she has been an honorary professor in the School of Culture and Creative Arts, University of Glasgow, UK.Lora V. Angelova is the senior scientist for Treatment Studies Research at the Getty Conservation Institute. She was previously Head of Conservation Research at The National Archives and a research fellow at Tate. Lora holds a PhD in chemistry and was a Newton Fellow at the University of Cambridge and University College London.Laura Chaillie is a London-based objects conservator and author of The Conservator’s Cookbook (2025). Her research interests range from the characterisation and interventive care of plastics, to novel material testing and the preservation of electronic musical instruments. Her work reflects an over-arching concern with the day-to-day practicalities of conservation.

• Introduction to the book; 1. The nature of dirt on surfaces; 2. Simple mechanical cleaning; 3. Liquids and solutions; 4. Cleaning with water: acidity and alkalinity; 5. Cleaning with organic solvents; 6. Cleaning with gels; 7. Cleaning by chemical reaction; 8. Physical cleaning.