Does a volatile binder applied to wall paintings really sublime completely? Or do residues remain in the plaster and cause damage? Volatile binders tinted with beta-carotene were applied to the surface of 24 lime mortar dummies. Half of the samples were heated for an hour under a infrared lamp before molten cyclodecane was added. A saturated solution of cyclodecane in petroleum ether 40-60 per cent was applied on the other half without prior heating. After 66 days, all the lime mortar disks were broken and sublimation time was determine on the basis of the traces of the volatile bonder. Revealed was that if cyclodecane was applied in molten form, very long sublimation times had to be taken into account if penetration was very deep. Therefore it must be urgently warned against such use! In contrast, the saturated solution showed much quicker sublimation. The hydrophobic layer created by adding the volatile binder in the plaster disappeared after about 38 days. To prevent the volatile binder from subliming, the vapor pressure had to be reduced. This required temperatures below the boiling point of liquid nitrogen.