Conservators breathe sigh of relief.

Coatings do not just help protect and beautify our homes today.

Certain coatings also help protect exquisite and priceless objects of antiquity. Conservators and archeologists around the world recently heaved a collective sigh of relief when Rohm and Haas Company announced that it would continue to produce its Paraloid[TM] family of acrylic resins. Used to repair or preserve many famous and notable relics such as objects found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Terracotta Warriors of Chinese Emperor Qin, and the Sistine Chapel, Paraloid products have long been recognized as the materials of preference for numerous conservation applications.

Spurred by rumors that Rohm and Haas had decided to stop manufacturing Paraloid B-72, a key member of this family of resins, conservators across the globe contacted the company to express their deep concern. The company has responded with a strong commitment to the product line and the conservation industry. "We are proud that the Paraloid platform is part of the fabric of museum and fine art life," asserts Luis Fernandez, vice president and business unit director of Rohm and Haas' Paint and Coatings Materials business. "I can think of no better way to support the history of the world than by providing acrylic products that protect that history for generations to come."

Scientists within Rohm and Haas have been working closely with experts in the fields of conservation, archeology, anthropology, and paleontology to better understand their needs with regard to resin performance. "Supporting an exchange of ideas between the two groups is the best and most productive way to understand the impact Rohm and Haas has today, and to shape our potential participation in the future," claims product line manager Renette Richard.

The Paraloid product range includes thermoplastic acrylate solution polymers, thermosetting resins, water-reducible polymers, and high solids products. These protective coatings have been widely adopted for the consolidation and stabilization of fragile objects and deteriorated stone due to their ability to produce tough, durable, attractive films with excellent resistance to alcohol, alkalis, water, and oils. They are used as adhesives, consolidants, or coatings to hold together disintegrating objects, fillers with bulking agents, and as cast films for lost compensation in glass, according to Lynn Grant, a conservator at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum).

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"Scientific conservation is a relatively new field that got its start in the 1960s. The 1970s was a period of experimentation, with many different materials being used with disastrous results," she says. In some cases, like with soluble nylon, the materials ended up damaging the surfaces they were intended to protect.

Paraloid products have been used since the 1950s in painting conservation, and have undergone both accelerated and natural aging tests. "The confidence conservators have in the stability and performance of these resins, particularly Paraloid B-72, has led them to become one of the most important materials available to conservators," Grant adds. "Just about every major artifact that can be viewed in museums around the world most likely has some type of Rohm and Haas product on it."

Paraloid products exhibit another important characteristic that makes them attractive for conservation of artifacts: their removability. "Any materials used to repair an artifact must be able to be removed at any time in the future without damaging the object," notes Grant. They also provide a water-clear transparency and resistance to discoloration at high temperatures. Other Rohm and Haas products with attractive properties for conservators include RHOPLEX[TM] and PRIMAL[TM] waterborne acrylic resins.

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Grant is one of the experts that Rohm and Haas has been working with in recent months. She was very pleased to hear that the company will continue to produce the Paraloid resins. "Because conservation isn't a primary target market for manufacturers, conservators are always concerned that producers will change a formulation or discontinue a product that is valuable to us and very difficult to replace."

With its recent announcement of a $100,000, three-year sponsorship of the traveling exhibition "Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya," organized by the Penn Museum, Rohm and Haas has reaffirmed its commitment to the sector. Opening in 2009 in Philadelphia, the exhibition will offer a view of ancient Maya culture through images on, and design of, its pottery as well as provide an in-depth look at the science of conservation.

Grant used Paraloid B-72 as an adhesive to reassemble ~1300-year-old vases that were excavated back in 1920-1921. "The adhesive used to originally reconstruct the pottery was failing completely," she explains. "Now that they are held together with Paraloid resin, we can be confident that this one-of-a-kind collection will be preserved far into the future."

The launch of the exhibition also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the company. "With the sponsorship of the Painted Metaphors exhibition, we have been given a unique opportunity to show the impact that Rohm and Haas has had in an area close to many people's hearts," says Fernandez.

The Penn Museum will use the money from Rohm and Haas to offer a range of educational and exhibition programs to showcase the complex culture and symbolism of the Maya people, an advanced civilization which reached its peak in Central America and Mexico from 250 to 900 CE.