Blanching

Description

A lightened or whitish area in a paint or varnish layer. Blanching is not a surface phenomenon like Bloom, but rather due to microscopic defects (voids, granules, etc.) that develop within a film layer as it ages. The defects can scatter light making the affected area appear lighter than the surrounding areas.

Synonyms and Related Terms

blanch

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Richard Buck, Inspecting and Describing the Condition of Art Objects, Museum Registration Methods, AAM, Washington DC, 1979

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998