4 ONE YEAR LATER

IN JULY 1979 the Theodore Roosevelt was re-examined. Its visual appearance and state of preservation were satisfactory, despite the small changes which had occurred. The new formula wax paste had withstood the elements quite well; it was still uniform and water resistant. Of course, the sculpture was again covered with surface dirt. Some of the old patches of corrosion had reappeared, due to rain streaking (Figure 2c).

Fig. 2c. Proper right hand of Theodore Roosevelt.

To remove the dirt we washed the statue with a 5% solution of pure soap in water. Much of the soot washed off easily and the water beaded up and readily ran off the well-preserved wax coat.

Two thin coats of wax paste were applied over the old wax. This time, instead of buffing after both coats were applied, we buffed each coat individually. The first waxing and immediate buffing removed remaining grime from the surface. The second coat seemed to camouflage the green corrosion patches, but after solvent evaporation they reappeared, albeit to a lesser extent (Figures 1 and 2d).