J. W. Fiske Company Fountain

In September 2016 we completed a condition assessment of the J. W. Fiske Company Fountain in Atherton, CA. The fountain elements exhibited heavy deposits of minerals, soiling, iron staining, coating failure, and localized breaks and deformations.

Following the assessment, we were contracted to remove and treat the fountain. The goals of the treatment were to safely remove the zinc and cast iron fountain components, conserve the zinc sculptures, provide new structural support system for the zinc sculptures, investigate coating systems and provide a suitable color match to the original paint color, remove existing coatings from the zinc and cast iron components, passivate soluble chloride salts, replicate missing cast iron components, apply a protective coating, and reinstall the fountain.

The fountain was documented, disassembled, soft-packed and transported to our facility in Maryland. After a paint investigation was performed, the units were cleaned of all coatings so that the metal could be locally repaired. Custom supports were fabricated for all zinc elements and a new plumbing system was designed and implemented. All elements were primed and local corrosion pits were filled prior to overall painting. Once the treatment was complete the fountain was shipped back to California to be reinstalled.