koftgari preservation question
 

How i can preserve a condition from an object with koftgari?
Must i apply some kind of wax? i know that oil prevents rust but does it affect the koftgari??

how do you handle this case?

many thanks in advance

Koftgari is quite sensitive as rust can develop beneath it and make it exfoliate.

I protect it with Rehaissance Wax but in liquid form.

So, (1) I basically dilute some Ren Wax in White Spirit (heating the mixture) until I get a milky liquid Ren Wax.

(2) I degrease the Koftgari with cotton swabs soaked with White Spirit and let it dry well (when applying the White Spirit, do it with utmost care as the cotton swabs may detatcah small fragments of Koftgari).

(3) I apply generously the Ren Wax over the koftgari with a brush and let it dry.

(4) I heat up the piece with a hair drier to melt the Ren Wax and help it penetrate even futher.

(5) I apply with cotton swabs normal Ren Wax over the whole surface.

(6) Very gently clean/polish the surface with cotton swabs.

Hi Marius,

thank you very much for your information. After sleeping over it i thought takeing it to an expert would be a better option. First of all it was quite expensive and it would be a real shame if i try to "optimise" it and ruin it forever by doing so and fail miserably at it.

Its very hard not to give in the urge to present it already now, so will present it to the forums for discussion when everything is finished. :D

Thanks again

Good luck!

But please make sure you check how expert is your expert and ask him if he has experience with this kind of work.
:)

Marius you have posted some very sound advice about preservation. The trouble with koftgari is that corrosion that starts in the exposed iron around the gold decorative motifs can eventually eat underneath the precious metal (which after all is a thin foil on top of a roughened surface, a mechanical bond without any chemical adhesion or sealing whatsoever). This corrosion going underneath is what causes exfoliation.

Using waxes and other things is of little use in areas where the corrosion is still working, and not removed. The rust will keep going, over long enough time, under the wax. I make it a point to remove as much of the visible rust BETWEEN the decorative elements, using fine dentistry tools and micro diamond rifflers, without disturbing the overlay or leaving patches of bright over-cleaned metal. It can be a slow process, not very exciting work, but at least you know that your item will survived that much longer with its decoration intact, after you do the final cleanup and apply your wax coat.

Hi Philip,

I have no rust or other issues. I just want to have its current status preserved :p

Using tools is not good on my thing because the koftgari is on top of blue steel and polishing it would take away that layer of colour.