Cleaning oil paintings?

I think what you need first is an appraisal. Since the gallery that sold them are not longer lawfully able to reappraise the artwork they've sold, an independent appraiser listed with the American Society of Appraisers may be in order: http://www.appraisers.org/join/ At least you can insure them for the present value rather than the value of the original sales receipt.

Artists dying do not often increase the value of their work. That's the Van Gogh scenario, where an artist hasn't sold his work and when he has sold it was for very little (only one Van Gogh sold during his lifetime). Today, it's a long wait before there is any intrinsic increase to the value of the work. A sharp art salesman might try to convince someone (when Warhol died, there was a brief run on his more commercial limited editions but nothing happened to his market until many years later), but that is a sales approach in order to gain a commission. Actually, Robert Rauschenburg's work, as an example, has increased so much while he is still alive it prompted him to state that he couldn't afford to buy back any of his paintings. It's all marketing and only an accredited appraiser can actually give one a document that states the work is worth X amount of dollars.

I wouldn't hesitate to use the Windsor & Newton cleaner as it is extremely unobtrusive. It will take off only the surface soil without attacking the oils.

If the appraiser were to value the work in the tens of thousands, I would think it would be worth getting perhaps a better conservation cleaning done by a professional. The bill for one work of art such as you've described for appraisal and cleaning could easily be $1,000 to $1,500.

Otherwise, leave them dirty.

I wouldn't want to try this on anything that was remotely valuable but..................



Link to the source

Dag - ne touche pas!

Good grief!

(I urine for the good ole days).

I suppose there are sotheby's et al in Vienna or Prague...

one of the enzymes my friend mentioned was enriched out of horse urine. Anybody ever eat a Pin Dun in a China street venders stand. Dont eat the pin dun.

Hell, dag, use your own spit.

That works on some soil spots on clothing.

The Windsor & Newton oil painting cleaner lists what is in their product:

A liquid which dissolves linseed oil oxidation products to clean soiled oil paintings. Emulsified mixture of Copaiba balsam, dipentene, pine oil with ammonia. The liquid settles out in two layers. Thinning not recommended.

Dagmaraka, In the last couple of years, I had a professional conservator "clean" (and make one minor repair) on two oil portraits. Both were fly-specked, and the original varnish had darkened. Before the work was done, I asked for an estimate of the cost--and I would recommend that you do the same! There is a wide range of services, some of them, because they are so time-consuming, very expensive. For example, when I was a researcher at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum, the most valuable conservation projects were sent to the Kecks in Cooperstown, NY. When they returned a work to us, not only was it beautifully done; it also was accompanied by a 150-250-page document that described step-by-step, every chemical, every pigment, every technique that they had used. Some of these projects were conservation nightmares--like an Albert Pinkham Ryder in which the bottom coats of the artist's paint were still not dry after 90 years!

Your paintings definitely sound valuable enough that you should hire a conservator. But, please ask questions before you sign a contract. You don't need a written narrative of the work; you simply want a good, light-handed cleaning, a service for which you could and should be given a fairly accurate estimate.

When I had the pair of oil portraits cleaned, the conservator estimated 300-400 US$ each--a lot of money to me. I had seen examples of his conservation--very fine--so I signed on with him. He did an excellent job, and each painting was returned to me in about a month. The canvas size of each is approximately 1 X 1.5 m.

To echo the sentiments of many others on this thread, please don't attempt the work yourself. Even if you are very handy, a professional, who does this all the time, will do a better--and safer--job. You love the paintings--let them be loved!

I think restorers and conservators have made a big deal out of cleaning paintings to discourage those who wish to clean their own oil paintings. Guess why? They want to business -- cleaning paintings for some exorbitant price.

Hmm, I guess so. trouble is - it is I who wants them clean, not my parents who they belong to. My father got the paintings from the artist himself. he touched them up once, but that must have been twenty or so years ago...
I cannot pay $3,000 or more to have my parents' paintings cleaned,ha, and i don't imagine they would go ahead with that. after all, you gotta take into account that that money is half a year of salary in slovakia. they can afford it, but i'm sure they'd have other priorities. i guess i'll have to wait. once i am done with the dreaded Dissertation (i need an ugly nickname for it, say Odula) and start earning a decent living, I'll probably get one at a time done. One could also use a new frame which I definitely cannot do.
So urine or spit, huh? Neither sounds particularly temtping for this OCD freak. I wouldn't have a feeling they are 'cleaner', but would avoid coming home altogether. I guess I'll just keep staring at the fly specks for now...

My restorer who is in the LA harbor area has advised me several times to use the Windsor & Newton cleaner instead of paying him $500.00 just to clean surface dirt from an oil painting. Having done restoration myself helps, of course, as I know to try a test area, usually the unexpose edge which is under the ratchet of the frame. Also not to load on the cleaning medium but do it gradually until no more soil comes off on the cloth. Unbleached flannel is also great for cleaning paintings.

LW, Clearly, you know what you're doing, and I would feel completely at ease if you were to clean a painting of mine. And, quite likely, if I could watch you, who knows the process well, clean a canvas, I would be up for doing the next one myself.

But, Dag has never cleaned a painting, and, because we cannot see her parents' oils directly to see just what might be going on with them, it seems risky for her to go ahead on her own--especially as the paintings have significant sentimental and market value.

I am all for doing things myself--unless the cost of possible failure is high. Is the Winsor & Newton cleaner safe enough that Dag could use it without doing damage, even if it turns out not to do the job? How does your restorer in LA decide which paintings he should clean instead of you?

I am not questioning your obvious expertise. I just want to be sure that Dag protects her parents' paintings.

i have diapers and i will ask in a painting store i know about windsor and newton. not sure if they'll have it in slovakia. maybe i can get it online, too...

I did give you a link where the price is pretty attractive, especially since you won't be paying any Mass. sales tax:

http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/597/WINSOR--NEWTON-Artists-Oil-Picture-Cleaner.htm

It's not a big deal to use this product -- just use diapers, try cleaning an edge. Follow the instructions that come with the cleaner. My own method has always been to dampen the cloth with the cleaner and carefully go left-to-right, right-to-left in a light touch clockwise circular motion from the top of the work to the bottom. Then repeat with counter-clockwise motion. It's unlikely but if the test area begins bringing up any of the color in that area, of course, do not try it yourself. This would be very unusual. When no more soil comes off the surface, you can resurface with a spray that has the same finish as the original painting. If it is glossy (which brings out color depth but reflects glare), use a gloss. If it is a semi-gloss (my preference as it is a compromise between retaining color depth and cancelling glare). If it is flat or matte, use that spray. That doesn't mean if it is matte that you would prefer to bring up the gloss with one of the other two choices.

It helps to have had art courses at a university or high education art school as this does give one the tecniques to preserve their own work. If one lives in air pollution, I've even framed oils with anti-reflective glass in a shadow box. The new anti-reflective plexiglass is expensive but it's a one time cost that some may prefer.

You could get one of those steam-cleaner thingies.

ahaha, drewdad, i can just see my mother's eyes pop out of her head if i were to approach the paintings with that steam cleaner.

"It's OK mom. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Drewdad told me to use this."

"Who's dad? What? Get out of my house or I'll steam-clean you!"

oh, you DID!
that is cheeeaaaap! nice!

well, tell you what guys. I will take pics this weekend and look up the paintings in his book, they are there. Maybe it will say more about the paint itself. And I'll check the cleaner won't do something disastrous chemically, then I order, then test on the back of a painting, and then only then i will proceed. arrrgh. that means at least two weeks of waiting or something.... ok, i'll live, i suppose.