Help! Oil Painting Restoration Recipe needed
Sirartist
I need your help, folks!
I need the recipe for a cleaning solution, to clean a framed oil on wood
painting that has aged in a cellar until it is almost black. It is the
*perfect* gift for my brother, if I can restore it in time.
The wood is probably oak, the paints definitely oils.
Any suggestions for something that will clean it without stripping it?
Yours digitally,
Christopher
Lisa Martzke
A friend who works in the restoration field advised me to use salamander
oil which he said is available at pharmacies. Havn't tried it, so I
can't vouch for it based on experience.
HTH,
Lisa
Sherry Bailey
If there is any remote chance this painting has value, DO NOT CLEAN IT!
Professional art conservators go through years of training to learn to clean
paintings without destroying them. Degrees in art history, chemistry and
special training in restoration are mandatory. Not something to fool with if
you might have something of value. (If it's a painting your not-famous granny
did 50 years ago, and you are SURE of that, then I guess the risk is small!)
One of the problems is learning to tell if there is a surface varnish which
darkened (a common problem) and how to get that off without wrecking the paint
underneath. Another is that artists have historically added questionable stuff
to their pigments for reasons nobody now knows, and messing around with theis
chemistry can ruin the painting. If you ONLY have surface grime to deal with,
you could try using a little non-detergent liquid soap (Ivory?) in warm water
and carefully clean tiny areas at a time with cotton balls moistened in
this. Then dry the cleaned spot IMMEDIATELY.
I met an antiques dealer once who found a really cool old painting at a flea
market. It potentially had some value, and he paid a low but fair price. He
asked the seller to hold it while he looked around. When he came back she had
sprayed it with Windex to "clean it up" for him, and totally eliminated any
value it had, irreversibley damaged the top layer of paint. He got his money
back but he told the story everywhere he went.
There are reasons old paintings and REALLY old books should only be "fixed" by
experts.
Sherry