Cleaning an oil painting. Cleaning and caring for oil paintings on canvas. There are other ways

Still think you can do it better than a specialist?
Do you feel sorry for the picture?
Shall we take a risk?)))

Let's start with breakthroughs, not in the sense that we'll start tearing a masterpiece to shreds)))
how to fix impulse on canvas? – primitively: with PVA glue in several layers.
The most important thing is on the reverse side!

Did you manage? - it was easy!
Shall we continue? ... think 7 times... cutting?

We clean it with turpentine, buy it at the pharmacy. It smells. No, it doesn't just smell, it stinks! A rag - cotton wool, wrapped in gauze (any imagination), soaked, moistened the painting layer, wait 5 - 10 minutes, wipe. I recommend experimenting with fresh air, somewhere in the shade, leave the canvas to air out.
Cool? - Otherwise! - these are the first minutes, while everything is still raw... drying out? – Do you feel how the contrast has begun to disappear? - these are still flowers)))

Is there a matte coating? - Fine! – consider that now the picture can be thrown away! ... don’t rush, we will continue to “treat” you.

When it dries, when you realize that you got too excited, you can move on to varnishing. Which one? - it doesn’t matter anymore - the picture will dazzle with its newness even with matte varnish... but we warned you...

But with your own hands! – decorative passions are resting)))

Do you want to wash the painting? 1000 and 1 way to wash canvas.
I only know 3 - enough to recommend against doing this.

We cut the onion (ours, from a domestic producer, a Euro-vegetable will not work, it’s too weak) and cut it into three halves.

Whip up the foam of regular washing powder. Apply three to a sponge and immediately wipe it dry.

And now the third method (exclusive from me) - how to kill an antique canvas by washing it? - take a modern oxide bleach, any one, dilute a spoon into a glass of warm water (the proportions almost don’t matter), wet the sponge - three. Shock? – same thing))) this cleaning method is irreversible.

Perhaps it should be added that cleaning an oil painting with folk (and professional) means is good only in the case of household contamination (grease, traces of human activity, etc.) and in the case of darkening and yellowing of the varnish that covered the painting after restoration.
It is precisely these layers of applied varnish that manifest themselves over time, and the more layers, the sadder the picture looks.
Cases when washing darkened paintings is useless.
Why do old paintings get dark?
Paints consist of a pigment and a binding component, which was often used as linseed oil, which oxidizes (turns yellow) over time. However, this gives the picture that very “gallery” touch that we love and appreciate so much.
The pigments include chemical substances: cadmium, cobalt, chromium, lead, strontium, etc., which, when mixing paints, react with each other, changing the original color over time.
And here we are powerless with all our numerous traditional methods cleaning.
It will be futile to try to brighten a painting painted in oil on a black ground; such works are subject to much more darkening. This is explained this way: the ground sinks through the white.

I am announcing a competition for best recipe cleaning paintings, oil paintings. All previous recipes are specifically for oil painting.

My blog is young and green, so it’s difficult to lure someone to take part in the competition, I had to look for cleaning recipes myself oil painting and paintings in general. To say that they are shocking and harmful (and simply destructive) is to say nothing. Let's take them as jokes))))

ATTENTION!!! It is NOT necessary to do as it is written in the following “recipes”!

I’m just copying from “House Economics”, smile)))

How to clean oil paintings.

“If the painting is not very dirty, then wash it 2-3 times with soap and then clean water. If the painting needs thorough cleaning, proceed as follows.

The stove ash is sifted onto the painting through a clean hair sieve, then warm soapy water is poured onto it and washed with clean water. After drying the painting with a towel, it is coated with varnish.

There are other means of cleaning paintings. Let's list some of them.

The painting is wiped with a sponge soaked in vinegar, then washed with clean water. Instead of vinegar, you can use diluted vodka,

The baked onion is cut in half and rubbed into the picture; then the canvas is washed with clean water and, after allowing to dry, covered with beaten egg white or white varnish.

Place the painting on a smooth table or board, wet it with water and sprinkle with salt, then take a piece of canvas and rub it until the dirt comes off. Having completely cleaned the painting, it is wiped, washed again with clean water and allowed to dry completely, after which it is varnished.

Chinese way to clean old oil paintings

To clean the painting well, rub it with a brush dipped in lime water, then wash it 3-4 times. It takes on its former appearance and gloss.

How to varnish oil paintings

Since new oil paintings cannot be immediately coated with varnish, because it eats into the paint too deeply, the paintings are usually coated with a specially prepared composition. The egg white is mixed with a few tablespoons of vodka until everything turns into foam; the composition is left alone for several hours, after which the light liquid formed under the foam is carefully drained and, using a soft sponge, the painting is smeared with it several times, allowing it to dry each time. Then they hang the painting for about 4 months or six months so that the oil dries completely.

After this period, wash it with warm water, clean it of protein and apply varnish once or twice. "(With)

Brief instructions for cleaning paintings:

“Brush picture frames with a feather duster and gilded frames with a soft brush.
Cover paintings painted with oil paint with a white rag moistened with water (preferably rain), leave it for 3 - 4 hours, then dry it, and lightly rub it over the surface of the painting with a linen rag moistened with linseed oil. Moisten the white areas with hydrogen peroxide and then wipe with a rag.” (c)

And finally the winner in the ranking: “The dumbest cleaning tip oil paintings" I repeat once again, please do not follow such advice if you still need and like oil painting even a little bit. All these methods kill paintings irrevocably (and the last recipe also went through the fingers)))

“To clean a painting, you first need to wash it with a sponge and warm water to remove dust and soot. Then, if the picture is covered with varnish, it is removed by rubbing the finger, washing from time to time and drying each time, before starting to remove the varnish again; This is done until dust stops forming under your finger. Then they pass lightly with petroleum ether and wipe with a soft, but not shaggy rag, after which the painting is ready for new varnishing. But if under this first removed layer of varnish there is another one that cannot be removed with a finger, or if the first layer itself cannot be removed by friction, then it should be assumed that the painting was covered with oil varnish or ordinary varnish, but with an admixture of fatty substances. In this case, you should cover this layer of varnish with petroleum ether and leave it for 24 hours, after which a layer of fine chalk powder should be poured onto the petroleum ether through a sieve (the picture should, of course, be laid horizontally). This chalk should absorb petroleum ether, which has dissolved fatty substances. 24 hours after this operation, the painting is washed first with warm water to remove chalk, and then with soapy water to finally clean it of fatty substances.
If all these means turn out to be insufficient, then the painting is carefully washed with acetone diluted with water, testing first on a corner to see the effect produced.
Each time after washing, you should try to remove the varnish by rubbing your finger, and if this fails, then it really is an oil varnish. In this case, it is dangerous to try to remove it completely, since you would have to use alcohol or gasoline, which could blur the painting. You need to limit yourself to removing the surface part of the varnish layer, wiping the picture gradually in small parts with a silk rag, slightly moistened with acetone diluted with water or egg oil diluted with a liquid that dissolves the watercolor fixative. If, under this varnish, which cannot be completely removed, the picture seems very dirty, then this indicates that the varnish was laid on top of another layer of old and dirty varnish, which is very common. What to do? It is necessary to remove the varnish, but it is better to entrust this to an experienced restorer, since this operation is, in any case, risky.
Dried oil paint can be removed from a painting with a rag soaked in gasoline or a scraper;
for painting on boards, the last technique is convenient, and on primed canvases and paper, gasoline is preferable, which eliminates the possibility of cuts and scratches.” (c)

This is something that should always please the eye and delight.

Therefore, the process of caring for them is an important and difficult issue.

Cleaning a painting is an easy task. The main thing is to know how to do it correctly.

How to clean an oil painting

If your wall is decorated with an oil painting that has accumulated dust, you can simply wipe it off with a dry cloth.

However, if the painting is heavily soiled, you will additionally need to wipe it with a cloth previously soaked in soapy water.

Afterwards, carefully rinse the painting with clean water and blot dry. This will help eliminate excess moisture.

The most severe stains can be removed with a well-soaped cotton sponge.

At the end of cleaning, you need to rinse the painting with clean water and dry it well with a cloth that absorbs moisture well.

There is another method known since ancient times: place the picture on the table, sift ash onto it through a sieve, and rinse with clean water.

How to clean the frame

Cleaning the smooth frame is easy. You just need to remove the dust with a damp cotton cloth and wipe until completely dry.

But baguettes are more difficult to handle - they need to be cleaned so that the plaster does not crumble:

1. Use the crumb of black bread; for a gilded baguette, it is better to use white bread.

2. Afterwards, you need to moisten the toothbrush in a teaspoon of regular alcohol and two drops of ammonia.

3. Swipe it over the surface with the pattern, thereby cleaning the surface of dirt.

4. Finally, wipe the product with a clean cloth, preferably cotton.

If even after cleaning the frame does not look perfect, painting it with bronze powder may be helpful.

It must first be diluted with a solvent or drying oil.

There is another intricate recipe that allows you to clean bronze to a shine.

You need a grater, a cloth and one raw potato.

The latter needs to be grated to a pulp, and with this pulp on a rag, clean the product, then wipe it dry.

Cleaning an embroidered picture

The question often arises about how to restore the purity of an embroidered picture.

You need to carefully remove it from the subframe.

Such items can be washed in cool water. The detergent should be mild.

But this should be done very carefully: you should not twist or wash the fabric.

The painting needs to be rinsed well cold water. The most important thing is to dry the painting properly.

The best option is to stretch it onto a hoop or wooden tablet using small nails.

When drying is complete, stretch the painting onto a stretcher and decorate it with a frame.

Cleaning gold-plated mirror frames

If the gilding is covered with a varnish layer on top, then it cannot be cleaned with alcohol, soapy water, soda and other popular cleaners, as they corrode the varnish.

In reality, everything is even simpler: you just need to wash the frame with clean water using a soft brush, and then remove this water along with the dirt.

Use a soft cloth and clean the frame with as gentle and light a touch as possible.

How to clean oil paintings?

In order to clean and refresh an oil painting, you need to beat the egg white. Soak a cloth in the protein and thoroughly wipe the painting with this cloth.

This is to remove dust from the painting, the painting will become shiny, as if new. And also, this mixture, if there are traces of flies in the picture, will remove them.

How to clean oil paintings?

It is not always logical to give excessive shine to paintings painted with oil paints during weekly care.

It has been noted by experts that you should not add excessive shine to paintings painted with oil paints, as matte paintings look more noble.

Oil paintings should not be placed under glass; the canvas under oil paint must breathe.
In addition, oil paintings are varnished, although not immediately, but about a year later - after her birth.

It is better to clean canvas with oil paint using a regular vacuum cleaner with a soft brush, then wipe the painting with a piece of raw potato.

If the gilded frame has faded, wipe it with an alcohol solution and it will sparkle again.

If there are no cracks in the painting, you can use an ordinary soap solution / of course, do not wet the entire painting, but wipe with a damp soft cloth - preferably fleece.
However, artists consider the best product for caring for oil paintings to be turpentine oil, but it should be remembered that turpentine is a solvent!!!

Some techniques for caring for paintings, canvases, frames at home.
www gensovety ru

Expert advice:
Cleaning and caring for oil paintings on canvas.
gaponow

Oil paintings are cleaned different ways, including “grandfather’s”.
Before you start cleaning the canvas and refreshing the painting, the surface must be free of dust.
Folk remedies are good when the picture only shows traces of household pollution (grease, dust, plaque, other results of human activity).

The first remedy is onions. If the painting is very dirty, cut the baked onion in half and clean the canvas with the halves. Then wipe with a clean damp cloth.
They also peel potatoes. Like an onion, a potato is cut in half and peeled.
White paint on the canvas is refreshed with hydrogen peroxide and then wiped with a clean damp cloth.
Can be cleaned with plain water and a cloth. A clean rag is soaked in water, wrung out and covered with it on the canvas. Leave the cloth for 2-3 hours. Then the canvas is wiped dry, dried, and then wiped with a rag moistened with linseed oil.
In the case of natural aging (darkening of colors, fading) it is difficult to “revive” the canvas at home. Only professionals do this.

Some tips on how to “kill” an antique canvas and how to clean it correctly - www antik-invest ru

If the painting is not very dirty, then wash it 2-3 times with soap and then with clean water.

If the painting needs thorough cleaning, proceed as follows. The stove ash is sifted onto the painting through a clean hair sieve, then warm soapy water is poured onto it and washed with clean water. After drying the painting with a towel, it is coated with varnish.

There are other ways.

♦ The painting is wiped with a sponge soaked in vinegar, then washed with clean water. Instead of vinegar, you can use diluted vodka.

♦ The baked onion is cut in half and the picture is rubbed; then the canvas is washed with clean water and, after allowing to dry, covered with beaten egg white or white varnish. Place the painting on a smooth table or board, wet it with water and sprinkle with salt, then take a piece of canvas and rub it until the dirt comes off. Having completely cleaned the painting, it is wiped, washed again with clean water and allowed to dry completely, after which it is varnished.

♦ Chinese method of cleaning old oil paintings. To thoroughly clean a painting, rub it with a brush dipped in lime water, then wash it 3-4 times. It takes on its former appearance and gloss.

♦ Paintings painted with oil paints are thoroughly wiped with a cloth dipped in beaten egg white. This removes dust, fly marks and gives the canvas a shiny, renewed look.

If you want to , I will give you some professional tips on storing and caring for them.

Paintings on canvas, painted in oil, require from their owner not only good taste, but also care, thanks to which they can please the eye for many years.

Let's talk about the rules for storing paintings.

Paintings on canvas They often surprise their owners by stopping hanging straight for no apparent reason. To ensure that the canvas stays in the right place, I recommend securing wire or rope in two places on the stretcher. Wire is still preferable; it provides the most reliable fixation.

Also, it is worth using not one fastening, but two. If you glue strips of rubber along the edges of the back side to an oil painting on canvas, then the friction with the wall will be stronger, due to which it will not change its position.

If you want to buy oil painting on canvas, I'll tell you a couple of tricks regarding the placement of canvases. With their help, your new acquisition will look much more beautiful and impressive.

So, the upper part of the painting on the canvas can be slightly tilted forward. Also, don’t forget about lighting. The impression a painting makes depends greatly on how the light falls on it.

In addition, when placing the canvas on the wall, try to make sure that the center of the composition is at eye level. Oil paintings on canvas cannot be placed under glass, otherwise they will not last long.

If you decide to buy an oil painting on canvas, its care options will vary depending on its age.

Pictures under six months old, like children, need sunlight and fresh air. With regular ventilation of the room in which the painting hangs, oil paints dry faster.

The final drying and hardening of the paints occurs only in the second year of the painting’s life. During this period, it must be protected from humidity and temperature changes. Direct hit sun rays This is no longer desirable, as this may cause the paint to darken.

Oil paintings on canvas should not be hung in the kitchen next to the stove, nor should they be placed in close proximity to heating appliances. Otherwise, microcracks will begin to appear on the canvas.

Cleaning canvas paintings

Oil paintings on canvas require periodic cleaning, which is not limited to banal dusting.

A special cleaning procedure allows not only to effectively remove settled dust and dirt, but also without damaging the paint.

Before you start cleaning, you should make sure that the cleaning agent is harmless; to do this, you need to apply it to the edge of the canvas and wait for the reaction.

If everything is in order, then you need to place a stack of old newspapers or magazines under the picture, removing the frame. Then, gently wipe the oil painting on canvas with a cotton pad soaked in cleaning agent.

Here you need to be careful and make sure that no traces of paint appear on the cotton wool; purple and black are especially prone to wear off. If you notice marks, stop the procedure and rinse the painting with water.

In order to clean the painting from dust, ordinary, slightly heated water will be enough. In this case, cleaning must be done quickly, and after completion, wipe the canvas with a cloth. If oil painting on canvas has cracks - water cannot be used.

And now a few words about cleaning products.

If you want to buy an oil painting on canvas, you should know that the best cleaning agent is turpentine oil. They can remove almost all possible contaminants.

But, turpentine is a solvent, so first test the paints, as I wrote above.

The second most popular product is a regular soap solution; it best removes greasy stains from paintings on canvas.