Wood, particularly in the presence of excessive moisture, deteriorates due to action of biological agents and sunlight. Decay manifests itself not only in impairment of physical strength but also in discoloration. Protection of the paint during consolidation by impregnation and polymerization, albeit difficult, is possible. Details of a home-built 23 cm-diameter and 48 cm-long chamber for vacuum impregnation are given. The permeating methylmethacrylate monomer solution used with good results contained bis-4-t-butylcyclohexyl peroxidicarbonate as catalyst, and pyridine as activator in addition to methylmethacrylate polymer, which reduced the rate of heat generation by the reaction. Polymerization induced by gamma irradiation also yielded satisfactory results. Case histories of three artifacts are described.