Reemay
Images and text by Garry
Harrison,
Head, Circulating Collections Conservation,
Indiana
University Libraries Preservation Department
Reemay
Reemay is a spun polyester
fiber sheet material. It repels the adhesion of wheat starch paste. And
because its fiber orientation is such that it allows the migration of
water and water vapor through its thickness (and, specific to our use, into blotter
paper), it serves as an excellent adhesive mask for flat paper mending,
which is its primary use here in our lab. It is available in different
thicknesses, from the gossamer-thin, cobweb-like variety shown in the
illustration to a more substantial and thus more opaque material. The
thicker material is actually the one more commonly used, but the thinner
type better serves the purpose of illustrating the character of its fiber
structure.
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Complete Treatments Manual Table of Contents