Maintaining an oil paintingApproveRejectUn-ApproveSubscribeUn-Unsubscribe
Question asked 2021-03-31 17:14:22 ...
Most recent comment 2021-04-05 11:35:26
Oil Paint
Hi,
I have a couple of questions about how to maintain an oil painting.
I read on this forum that a painting can be dusted a few times a year with a soft brush. Is there a particular type of brush that you would recommend for this?
Also, for an unvarnished oil painting, can you explain how grime becomes chemically bonded with the paint? I wasn’t able to find any information about how this process happens. Also, once the grime is bonded can it be removed?
Thank you for your help
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Moderator Answer
(brian baade)
Overtime, the metal ions in grime will interact with the
organic and inorganic components on the surface of the painting creating
organo-metallic complexes. This takes place over time so periodic brushing the surface
should help prevent this. This is more likely to happen when a work is
unvarnished, but this is not a justification to varnish a painting when you
intend a different aesthetic.
A simple Japanese Hake brush with soft goat hair is
sufficient. Those with bigger budgets can purchase a badger hair brush for this
purpose.
Panting conservators can usually remove chemically complexed
surface grime by using combinations more complicated aqueous cleaning methods,
usually involving chelation. This need to be done by a professional since there
are bonds in certain pigments that can be broken if using a chelator with a
high enough disassociation constant or if the concentration of the chelator is
too high and the pigment is blown apart due to overly powerful osmotic
strength. You asked 😉
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