Our Favorite Wall

We love this wall in the ISU Conservation Lab.  It looks just like our other walls, so what’s so special about this one?  Here, have a closer look.

Those are tiny rare earth magnets holding the map to the wall, so this oversize item — too large a format for our photographic copy stand — can be easily and clearly photodocumented.  The wall has been coated with “magnetic paint,” which is actually a dark gray primer impregnated with iron particles.  You can paint over the magnetic primer with the wall paint of your choice, hiding its special qualities from view without disturbing its performance!