Abstract :
There is a growing interest by art conservators for laser cleaning ofwood artworks, since traditional cleaningwith chemical solvents can be a source
of decay, due to the prolonged action of chemicals after the restoration. In this experimentweused excimer andNd:YAGlasers,emitting radiation in the
ultraviolet (248 nm), visible (532 nm) and near infrared (1064 nm), to investigate the effect of laser interaction on gilded wood samples at different
wavelengths. Increasing fluence levels were tested to assess threshold values both for surface damage and colour changes. Detailed colorimetric
analyses of the irradiated samples show that cleaning effectiveness is related to the emission wavelength, the fluence and the number of pulses.
