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

Authority

• 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