Oil Painting Tear Filling - Gesso?

[Bill]

I have an oil painting with a tear that has been repaired by sewing the
canvas and a canvas patch applied to the back. The sewing is about one inch
long and about an eighth of an inch wide. The repair is slightly below the
surface of the painting (indentation) and I would like to fill it with
something so that it will be smooth. (Then paint the filling to match the
painting.)

All I can find on the internet is someone said to use a "gesso like
substance" for this. What should I use to fill the tear? Also I read that
the touch-up painting should be reversible. It is an oil painting and I
will be using oil paints to touch it up. (But only on the tear portion.) Is
there something I should apply first before painting and/or filling? Or
should I use a special paint?

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

"Bill" <nom...@nomail.net> wrote:

Unless you are CERTAIN the painting is worthless, get a
professional restorer to do this or learn to accept the repair.
You can screw up a much larger area of the painting with an
amateur repair attempt.

Tsu Dho Nimh

If we are what we eat, I'm fast, cheap and easy