Cleaning and Restoration
Clean and Varnish Paintings
First of all, an oil painting should always be varnished. The appearance is improved a great deal with much better color saturation. Most of all it protects the art. The varnish collects the dirt, dust pollution, etc. After several years, the varnish can be removed along with the contamination, the it can be be cleaned and re-varnished. The first varnish should not be done until about 6 months after the painting is finished. Some artists apply varnish right away, this is not good because the varnish bonds with the fresh paint, so that when it is removed it will remove a little of the paint. If a painting has been done a few years with no varnish, we will clean the emulsion before the first varnish.
We offer professional varnish removal, cleaning, re-varnish, touch up, repair of holes and tears, relining, and more. We use only professional materials (not available to regular frame shops). Many paintings require a 6-8 step process. We know enough to determine if the work needs to be sent to a conservator.
In the past, acrylic paints should never be varnished, because it cannot be removed without some of the paint will also be removed. But times have changed! We now have a coating that can be applied before the varnish that solves this problem. The varnish can then be removed without disturbing the acrylic paint.
