How to Clean an Oil Painting in 5 Steps
At Paint your Life, we believe great art deserves love and care.
If you have oil paintings in your home, maintenance and cleaning for them can be a mystery. We’re here to help! These five steps will show you how to take great care of your oil paintings and clean them well.
Why Clean Your Paintings?
You may be wondering why it would be necessary to clean the artwork in your home. Life is busy, and it is often hard to find time to set aside even for important projects. However, cleaning oil paintings can be done as-needed, and displaying art in your home is generally low-maintenance overall.
So, why clean your art? The answer is simple – it’s important to you! The pieces of art that you display in your home have significance and are worth preserving. In addition, the beauty of a painting can be dramatically increased when cleaning is practiced. You will be amazed how different old oil paintings can look after cleaning.
Step 1: Wash Your Hands
When handling art, clean hands are essential. This will keep any of the oils on your hands from harming the painting. If you’ve ever been to an art museum, you’ve probably noticed all the “do not touch the art” signs. This is because the oils on our hands can damage art – so wash and dry your hands well!
Step 2: Set the Painting on a Clean, Dry, Surface
When you clean an oil painting, one major aspect of your job is removing dust in a smart and effective way. Dust can build up on oil paintings that can give them the look of being neglected. To avoid this, set the painting on a clean and dry surface. Make sure there is no dust or moisture on the surface you choose that could harm the painting.
Once you have found a space to set up, the painting needs to be angled in a certain way so that dust does not stay on it. This means the painting will need to be propped up with the top angled forward – this way dust will fall off onto the ground instead of back onto the painting.
Step 3: Dust the Painting
When dusting an oil painting, your tool of choice makes a big difference. Your instinct may be to grab a dust cloth, but skip that for this task. Instead of a cloth, use a small brush with soft bristles that are not too rough to do the job.
Use the brush to dust the painting from top to bottom. This will eliminate any excess buildup of dust that detracts from the painting’s beauty. Once you have eliminated the dust, it’s time to move forward.
Step 4: Prep for Cleaning: Know What NOT to Do
Getting ready to clean the painting involves a lot of “don’ts.” There are numerous myths floating around the internet that need busted when it comes to cleaning paintings. One of the most notorious is the practice of cleaning oil paintings with white bread.
The pro-bread argument is as follows: white bread is soft and absorbent enough to take dirt and residue off of a painting without harming it.
However, using food to clean a painting creates risk of leaving crumbs behind on the painting. Crumbs, of course, attract bugs – and bugs can do serious damage to a valuable painting. Because of this, it’s best to avoid using bread to clean your oil paintings. It may sound like an easy solution, but it’s just not worth the risk that comes along with it. And, of course, bread is best for eating, not for use as a cleaning tool!
Another thing to avoid is using water or cleaning supplies on an oil painting. This is because water and cleaning materials can do serious damage to the painting, so avoiding them is a must.
So, what should you use instead? Oddly enough, many art experts recommend using saliva to clean oil paintings. Yes, you read that right. The best cleaning solution for oil paintings is spit.
Spit can be used on oil paintings because it will not harm the painting the same way water or chemicals would. You can use spit to clean an oil painting by getting a cotton swab wet with saliva, and then using it gently on the surface of the painting to get rid of any dirt or residue.
Importantly, though, your saliva can damage the painting if you’re not careful! Make sure not to eat or drink anything besides water for a half hour before trying the saliva method – food and drinks can affect your saliva and can cause it to damage the painting.
Step 5: Clean the Painting with a Cotton Swab
Now that you know what not to do, you’re ready to get moving with the cleaning. Take your saliva-moistened cotton swab and gently dab portions of the painting with dirt on them.
You may however, want to start with a quick test before you go all in. Take the cotton swab and dab a corner of the painting. This will help you make sure that your cleaning is not damaging the painting.
Some oil paintings have flaky paint from years of wear and neglect, and these paintings are difficult to clean well. Before cleaning an oil painting that has flaky paint, it is best to have the painting professionally stabilized.
Stabilizing an oil painting involves using adhesives to stop paint from flaking. It is best to leave this process to professionals. If your painting is too flaky to clean, go ahead and leave it alone until it has been professionally cared for. Cleaning a painting with flaky paint can damage the painting more, and lead to a headache for you.
If your painting is in fair condition with no flaky paint, cleaning involves gently brushing dirt off the canvas with a cotton swab. Use gentle, soft motions, not trying to cover too much area with each stroke. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to cleaning oil paintings.
Wrapping It Up
This may be a long process, so go ahead and make yourself comfortable. Cleaning an oil painting can be a peaceful and relaxing experience! Make it as fun as possible by putting on music or an audiobook in the background. You can even have a friend join you for the process and take it on together!
Once you are done cleaning, you’re ready to rehang your painting. Cleaning an oil painting is a gentle process that requires little to no aftercare, so don’t be afraid to hang your painting on the wall right after cleaning is complete.
Handle the painting gently, taking care not to touch the canvas. It is always best to only handle a painting by the frame. At Paint Your Life, we believe that displaying art in your home sparks joy and can liven up your living space. So have fun and express yourself with the art in your home!
Keeping your oil paintings clean is a tricky task, but it’s all part of the joy of art. Once you are done, you can enjoy the satisfaction of admiring a clean, beautiful painting on your wall. Now that you know the steps to clean an oil painting, you’re ready to make yours look their best. So put your music on, get your tools, and enjoy the ride as you clean your paintings!
Sources:
http://www.theconservationcenter.com/articles/677246-flaking-paint-the-challenges-of-p
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