No More Dirty Paintings

I realize with the title of this posting--I may get some disappointed readers expecting a different topic.  This is about cleaning oil paintings--of G-rated subject matter.

For years, our bread and butter in the antique selling business has been selling oil paintings.  We comb over auction catalogues and estate sales and we buy oil paintings.  Many of the paintings have years of grime and soot and maybe  even smoke on them.  If they have been varnished then the varnish has turned brown and then grime gets impeded inside it.  Buying a reasonably priced painting at auction can then lead to a large bill to pay someone who has the knack to clean the gook off the painting.  Cleaning a painting  carefully can cost hundreds of dollars.

The local man we used to hire did fine work and was very reasonable.  But he has retired.  So for awhile now--Dear One and I have been limited in the types of paintings we have bought--focusing on already clean ones as we did not have anyone to do the work.  I called a Chicago area conservator for a painting we bought recently and was quoted 500-800 dollars for cleaning  a 16 by 20 painting.  Crazy.  More than crazy.

So what to do?

Clean our own paintings of course.   Why did I not think of this before?  After a little research and also talking to my antique dealer Dad, I have found out how to do it.  I am doing the
Antique Dealer Happy Dance.

The trick is in the solvent.  My Super Secret Find dissolves the grime, but does not harm the oil below.  Light agitation with small paint brush, dabbing up the schmootz with cotton pads--and decades of grime and smoke just wipe up.  There are different kinds of old varnish--and the removing of that takes Another Mystery Goop.  Now it can be a bit painstaking--but I have already cleaned three paintings--two for resale and one for keeps.  We are thrilled!  No painting is off limits now--and we can often "bottom fish" at auctions and find some gems that just need a cleaning.

We will steer clear of any paintings that are damaged--or have crackled painting.  A really thick impasto palette might prove difficult too--to get in the nooks and crannies.

This old antique dog has learned a new trick!