Talk:BPG Bleaching

Revision Priority

Medium: We have had feedback from a student that it is not clear which bleaches are no longer used, and which are still in common use. The information could be reorganized and expanded, especially light bleaching section. A write-up of the use of bleaches in gels could be added. Philosophical discussion could be first instead of at the end. --Denise Stockman (talk) 15:40, 8 August 2016 (CDT)

• • The Philosophy section has been moved. And I'm moving any bleach that says something along the lines of 'people rarely use this anymore' to the Historic Techniques section. And I'm doing a whole reorg of the page --Fopferman (talk) 23:13, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

Things to Add/Change

• The blurb about gaseous treatment with hydrogen peroxide is outdated. Would be good to replace with the info on Sandrine's lead white page -- Frances Opferman 7 Nov 2025
• Images, especially of light bleaching setups ----Fopferman (talk) 23:01, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
• More thorough explanation of the chemistry at play, chromophores etc --Fopferman (talk) 23:02, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
• Remove initials from the quotes/experiences of the contributors?--Fopferman (talk) 23:12, 7 November 2025 (UTC)
• Should the tests for residual bleach, which currently live on BPG Spot Tests, have their home on the bleach page instead? --Fopferman (talk) 14:31, 8 November 2025 (UTC)
• Need written info about TBAB...and should the formatting match the rest? --Fopferman (talk) 16:12, 8 November 2025 (UTC)

Something to Think About

• I had a lil discussion with Crystal Maitland about some of the terminology we use when referring to bleaches. When the rest of the world thinks of bleaching, they are thinking only of oxidizing agents. It is perhaps better/more accurate to use the terms 'oxidizing agent' and 'reducing agent' when talking about the bleaches we use, especially in written literature. Both fall under the 'bleach' umbrella term. --Fopferman (talk) 16:11, 11 November 2025 (UTC)

Add to bibliography

Brückle, Irene. (2009). Bleaching Paper in Conservation: Decision-Making Parameters. Restaurator-international Journal for The Preservation of Library and Archival Material - RESTAURATOR. 30. 321-332. 10.1515/rest.018.

Mowery, F.: The conservation of the Omenhauser civil war sketchbook. The Bookand Paper Group Annual 10 (1991): 139 – 148.

Pascoe, M. W., Skinner, C.: Studies with sodium borohydride and hydrogenperoxide acting on artists’ colours and pigments. In : Conservation of Historic andArtistic Works on Paper, Proceedings of the Symposium 1988, H. Burgess (ed.),Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, 1994: 209– 213.

Stratis, H., with contributions by D. W. Kiehl: Whistler’s papers : their appearance,selection, and use. In : The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, N. R. Spink, H. K.Stratis, M. Tedeschi (eds.), The Art Institute of Chicago, Correspondence andTechnical Studies, vol. 2, Chicago, 1998: 298 –433.

Smith, Theresa. (2012). An Evaluation of Historical Bleaching with Chlorine Dioxide Gas, Sodium Hypochlorite, and Chloramine-T at the Fogg Art Museum. Restaurator. 33. 249-273. 10.1515/res-2012-0012.

--Denise Stockman (talk) 21:17, 11 May 2019 (CDT)

• • Added! -- Frances Opferman 7 Nov 2025