Foxing is a condition that can seriously inhibit vintage paper.
This condition can be caused by water exposure, humidity, mold, smoke damage, the rust chemical ferric oxide, or by sunlight and atmospheric pollution which has been absorbed.
As well, once paper has been compromised by foxing, the condition almost always migrates until the discoloration reaches the entire breadth of the work. During the removal of foxing, the paper can face many dangers.
It has been the common practice of many restorers to place the paper in a tray of chemicals; however, this treatment will remove the acid but might impugn the integrity of the paper and the images. And after immersion treatment, the paper is often put under heavy weight to remove the chemicals as well as to reform the paper.
At Restoration By Heart, our head Restorer, Gustavo Perez, uses proprietary techniques and chemicals that he has personally developed to insure the life and health of the paper we treat.
No paper is ever immersed in chemicals. Instead, we block out the unaffected areas and, using an airbrush, gently treat the paper. Not immersing the paper means that we do not have to treat the work with heavy weight.
We are experts at bringing paper back to life in such a way that the material suffers no damage, hidden or otherwise. Restoration By Heart is one of very few restoration sites that can make this guarantee:
When we remove foxing from paper, it will never return.
