Suggestions on spot cleaning an acrylic on canvas painting?

February 12, 2013 7:27 AM

Suggestions on spot cleaning marks off an acrylic on canvas painting? I recently bought a painting on eBay, not terribly expensive, not terribly valuable either, but it's nice and I like it very much. It needs to be cleaned up a bit.

The painting has some marks on the surface (which were noted in the description -- this is not an eBay issue), as though something had rubbed along it, or if the painting had banged into something, in much the same way as how you can mark a wall in your house accidentally by knocking something against it. The marks are only on the surface. The canvas and the paint surface are intact. I suspect there is no foundation layer of beneath the surface paint. The painting is acrylic on canvas, about forty years old, and is composed of large fields of white, which only highlights the marks.

I was thinking of supporting the back of the canvas with a sturdy, flat surface, and gently going at it with a natural rubber or white eraser. Any other suggestions?

(And yes, I know that taking it to a conservator is the best idea, but the painting probably isn't worth it. Just getting it reframed is already going to cost much more than the art itself.)

Thanks for your suggestions!

posted by Capt. Renault to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Best answer: Years ago, when I worked at an art museum, I came in to work with one of the conservators. We had previously worked on a project together, so I knew I could ask her this slightly oddball question. "How do I get bat blood off an oil painting?" Without missing a beat, she tells me that a Q-tip with some spit on it should do the job. "It's one of the first things we do. Of course, on the conservation log, we call it 'natural enzymatic cleaner'."
posted by advicepig at 7:55 AM on February 12, 2013 [3 favorites]

I also work at an art museum & advicepig has it right: stick a qtip in your mouth and get it damp--not soaking wet--and dab away. I've seen many conservators do this and I've done it myself.
posted by TishSnave at 8:42 AM on February 12, 2013

Best answer: Supporting the painting with a rigid back and removing the marks with a white vinyl eraser rubbed in one direction would be the best method. If you can take a magnifying glass and see what the marks are made of, it would help you figure out what other solutions might work. On an acrylic painting that old, the resin will be a little stiff and brittle, so minimize exposure to flexing and cold. Minimize exposure to water and mold, as acrylic as well. Vacuum the surface first to get rid of dirt. Two solutions that remove a bit of the top layer are dish soap and ammonia.
posted by effluvia at 8:44 AM on February 12, 2013

Thirding the q-tip with spit - it won't hurt the painting and removes a remarkable range of things.
posted by PussKillian at 9:08 AM on February 12, 2013

An artist I knew used a different 'organic' cleaner on her oil paintings: Milk
posted by Cranberry at 12:44 PM on February 12, 2013

Yep, the conservators I work with will use spit and they do call it "natural enzymes."
posted by mon-ma-tron at 7:46 PM on February 12, 2013