Lubricants in scientific-technical heritage : assessment, monitoring and conservation decisions

29-30.11.2027

Teresa Molina Delgado, heritage scientist trained in conservation-restoration and materials science. She holds a PhD with a dissertation focused on the evaluation of metal protection systems in scientific and technical collections. She is currently an SNSF postdoctoral fellow at HE-Arc conservation-restauration in Neuchâtel, where she leads LUBEST (2026-2027), a research project that contributes to decision-making regarding whether lubricants in functional heritage objects should be preserved, removed or replaced. Her research combines materials characterisation, corrosion assessment and tribology with the practical requirements of conservation. She collaborates with museums and international research groups with the aim to develop accessible, evidence-based tools/methodologies for professionals responsible for the conservation of scientific and technical collections.

Historical scientific and technical collections often contain lubricants that were essential to their original operation. But once these items become part of our heritage collections, what should be done with these lubricants, should they be preserved, removed or replaced ? And how can we monitor their condition and performance over time ?

This two-day course presents an approach focused on the methods, findings and case studies developed as part of the LUBEST research project. Participants will examine the challenges posed by lubrication, the physical and chemical changes associated with ageing and the insights gained through visual and microscopic examination, photographic documentation, colorimetry, FTIR spectroscopy, viscosity measurements and tribological testing. Emphasis will be placed on selecting appropriate methods, understanding their limitations and interpreting their results within a conservation context.

Through the hands-on observation of representative samples and the guided interpretation of data from real case projects, participants will document the condition of lubricants, compare changes and design viable monitoring strategies. They will then use a structured decision-making framework (developed within the LUBEST project) to discuss the best option to each case. The course will conclude with a technical visit to the historic refracting telescope at the Neuchâtel Observatory, providing an opportunity to discuss lubrication and monitoring in the context of a functional heritage mechanism.

By the end of the course, the participants will be able to recognise common lubricated contacts and deterioration phenomena in the mechanisms of scientific and technical objects, choose appropriate visual, documentary and analytical approaches to assess lubricant condition and understand their limitations, document and compare changes in lubricant appearance and analytical results using monitoring protocols, interpret evidence from different methods and identify when further investigation or specialist support is needed, use a structured decison-making framework to discuss whether a lubricant should be preserved, removed or replaced.

Conservation professionals, collection managers, heritage scientists, professionals caring for scientific-technical collections or functioning historic mechanisms in general.

No prior knowledge of lubrication testing is required.

Day 1 (welcome 8h30 / lesson 9h-17h30)

• Introduction to lubricants in scientific and technical heritage : conservation challenges and the LUBEST project
• Methods for the characterisation and monitoring of historic lubricants : applications and limitations
• Practical activities and case studies illustrating lubricant behaviour, ageing and monitoring approaches.

Day 2 (8h30-17h)

• From scientific assessment to conservation decisions . preserving, removing or replacing lubricants

• LUBEST results and approaches to evidence-based decision-making

• Technical visit to the Neuchâtel Observatory : conservation and lubrication challenges of historic scientific instruments still in operation.

CHF 550.-
Meals and travel expenses are not included