2016: Annual Conference

Details of the 2016 Conference

30th September & 1st October 2016

Black Country Living Museum, Dudley

Full definition flyer

­The Traditional Paint Forum  is pleased to announce that, after the sell-out success of last year’s annual conference, we will be staging a two-day conference on 30th September/ 1st October 2016.

Addressing issues of conserving and preserving historic metalwork, be it architectural or industrial, is often complex and fraught with problems. We will be looking at these issues through the prism of industrial and transport heritage; its history, conservation, repair and restoration.

As a fitting backdrop to this topic, we are excited to announce that the conference will be at the Black Country Living Museum, Dudley. We will be drawing on the area’s rich history of decorative finishing. The museum is home to an amazing collection of transport and industrial heritage, from trams, cars and buses, to iron houses and wonderful enamel work on iron.

Throughout the first day of the conference, speakers will cover

  • the conservation and restoration of railway vehicles (both working and museum based)
  • the industrialisation of paint manufacture
  • the practicalities of the conservation of working machinery
  • the use of colour and painted decoration on industrial ironwork and transport heritage.
  • how XRF is being used to analyse paint coatings on historic military equipment.

A new feature of this year’s conference will be an ‘Any Questions’ section; attendees and members will have the opportunity to put questions to the forum.

At the end of day 1, we will be continuing the debate over a glass of wine (or two) and evening meal, set in the highly atmospheric Workers’ Institute at the museum. The evening get-together at TPF conferences is well known for its vibrant debate and discussion, and this year’s promises to be a highly memorable event in itself! ­

The second day will focus on specialist painting and coating techniques historically used on industrial equipment, including enamelling and sign writing. Throughout the day, we will be presenting talks and ‘drop in’ demonstrations on enamelling and sign writing. Following feedback on last year’s conference, we will also be included a feature on brushes, paint and gold leaf manufacture. The BCLM have generously offered free entry to the museum to all delegates.

Who should attend?

The issues surrounding preservation of industrial and transport heritage are readily applicable to a much wider field; from projects including metal railings and park furniture, to interiors and multi-media objects. Anyone working in the field of heritage asset conservation or those with an interest in transport will find this a valuable and educational event. Architects, engineers, surveyors, conservation officers, painters and decorators, conservators, builders, specifiers, owners and managers of historic properties, museum curators and transport enthusiasts. If you have responsibility for the maintenance of historic artefacts, then this could be the most important conference of the year for you. We are pleased to announce that IHBC have agreed to make this a CPD event.

Conference Fees

Members rate: £230 including conference dinner

Non-members: £275 including conference dinner

Separate day rates are available on Eventbrite.

As part of this year’s conference, we will be encouraging all TPF members to join the debate. If you have a question you’d like to ask about one of your projects or about paint in general, please send us your question via email (paintresearcher@gmail.com) or tweet us @tradpaintforum using #tradpaint16. You can also use our LinkedIn page.

 Tradpaint@BCLM2016