Flour

Description

A fine powder obtained from grinding grain, roots, beans nuts or seeds. Flour grains include Wheat, Corn, Rye, and Rice. Flour contains Starch and Gluten, both of which form a thick, viscous paste with boiling water that dries to a strong and water-insoluble form. Flour paste has been used historically as a size for textiles and as an adhesive for Paper, Leather, Parchment, Ivory, and some inorganic materials. It has also been mixed with Oil or Glue to form an inexpensive paint binder. Flour pastes may only be removed with the aid of enzymes and are susceptible to attack by microorganisms, thus they are not in current use in conservation.

Synonyms and Related Terms

farinha (Port.); harina (Esp.); farine (Fr.); farina (It); flour paste

Risks

• Susceptible to biological growth when wet
• Susceptible to biological attack when dry
• Flour dust suspended in air is explosive

Resources and Citations

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
• George Savage, Art and Antique Restorer's Handbook, Rockliff Publishing Corp, London, 1954
• Wikipedia: Flour Accessed March 2025