Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You take the job.
You walk up to the woman and accept her offer to restore her most-cherished
family heirloom for $1,500. You know you cannot do an adequate job for that
price, but you will try your best.
You repair a tear by filling in and painting the area. You then remove
the painting from its poor strainer and give it a strip lining (a lining on
the edges of the painting) because the edges are worn and torn.
To keep the project under budget, you also clean the painting by removing
the marks and dirt on it with a cheaper solvent, bought by your partner, which
you have never used before.
After you finish the painting, it looks almost new, and you think to yourself
that you have pulled it off. You leave the painting in the workroom to dry
overnight.
The next day you enter the workroom to put the finishing touches on the
painting. To your horror, you see that streaks of white appear all over the
painting. The cheaper solvent, which you have never used before, ate through
the paint and discolored the portrait.
"The equipment and supplies [that are used to restore and
conserve paintings] are very specialized and are not cheap," says restorer
Sarah Spafford-Ricci.
"Materials such as adhesives and consolidates are chosen specifically for
their chemical properties -- how those match the job at hand, their stability
and their reversibility."
The customer will be coming in the next hour to pick up her most-cherished
family heirloom. You will have to give her some very bad news.