Restoration of the leather interior of a retro “Maxwell” car from 1911

The Laboratory of Chemical Technology Research of the State Research Institute for Restoration has developed a restoration technique and a sequence of technological operations for the restoration of the leather interior of a retro “Maxwell” car. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that the technology of impregnation with a consolidating agent and a greasing emulsion using a vacuum was developed without removing the skin from the seat’s backs of the car. This method of skin treatment was applied due to the design of the seat’s backs, which cannot be dismantled. The article discusses the main problems of destruction associated with the loss of moisture and elasticity of the skin. Special attention is paid to such issues as cleaning from dirt, eliminating deformations, and plasticizing the skin. A material recommended by specialists of the Laboratory of Chemical Technology Research of the State Research Institute for Restoration, which has a low surface tension and is a surfactant at low concentrations, was chosen as a consolidating agent. To strengthen the skin with partial peeling, an acrylic dispersion was selected, which easily penetrates into cracks and is evenly distributed in the volume of the restored area. Attention was paid to the use of a fat emulsion, which has a good penetrating ability into the skin structure. An emulsion developed by the Shebekinsky Industrial Laboratory based on semi-synthetic oils with the addition of natural ingredients was taken. As a result, it is concluded that using these materials for restoration, it is possible to restore such skin and bring it into an expositional appearance.