This is a restoration project that was done at the Louisville Palace.
Due to sound vibrations, humidity, etc. the
plaster in this area had
really started to
effloresce. Efflorescence, in this case, basically means
plaster cancer. And, like any cancer, once it begins it will continue t
o spread. The damage in some places only involved the top layer but
in others it had invaded the structural part of the details.
In order to save the plaster from further corrosion all of
the efflorescence had to be removed.
This meant that the damaged three dimensional details had to be taken away too. After all the
excising, areas were rebuilt with new plaster. In the close-up on the right you can see the new
grey plaster that has been carved to match the old detail.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
(on the left) Repairs have been completed and primer applied.
(below) Base coat to match original has been painted.
(above) Original colors have
been matched and artfully applied. Now we're as good as new!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
(below) Someone leaned on the lamp and knocked the whole thing over.
Alas, since the lamp top detail was made of plaster it sustained quite a bit of damage. After some major reconstruction
and repainting all's well that end's well.
|
The completed project, sans it's base. |