Cleaning nicotine from an acrylic on canvas painting?
September 7, 2017 12:03 PM Subscribe
I picked up a painting at Value Village recently. It appears to be acrylic on canvas. It is a hearty winter scene of lumberjacks in the woods -- nothing special, I just like it. There is plenty of snow, and lots of white clouds, all of which is quite brown with nicotine. Now -- how do I clean this painting, and restore it to its original appearance?
The paint is quite thick and textured, and in some places the taller 'caps' in the waves of paint have broken off, exposing the original pure white colour of the snow. Of course, it's not just the snow which is more brown with nicotine -- the whole thing is covered.
Following my earlier question on a different painting, I have tried spit. It didn't work on this one. I have also tried a mild vinegar and water solution, which also didn't work. I have tried a mild household lemon cleaner and water solution, and didn't get anywhere either. For these early tests, I have used only Q-tips and a clean J-cloth, no actual brushes yet.
This nicotine layer is pretty hard, almost like a shellac. I am quite certain the painting was never varnished, that this is just years of tobacco smoke residue. I have read this question about cleaning smoke from furniture, but things might be a bit different with cleaning a painting.
Any ideas of what I should be using to step up the cleaning power?
The paint is quite thick and textured, and in some places the taller 'caps' in the waves of paint have broken off, exposing the original pure white colour of the snow. Of course, it's not just the snow which is more brown with nicotine -- the whole thing is covered.
Following my earlier question on a different painting, I have tried spit. It didn't work on this one. I have also tried a mild vinegar and water solution, which also didn't work. I have tried a mild household lemon cleaner and water solution, and didn't get anywhere either. For these early tests, I have used only Q-tips and a clean J-cloth, no actual brushes yet.
This nicotine layer is pretty hard, almost like a shellac. I am quite certain the painting was never varnished, that this is just years of tobacco smoke residue. I have read this question about cleaning smoke from furniture, but things might be a bit different with cleaning a painting.
Any ideas of what I should be using to step up the cleaning power?
This should work. I've used it before to remove various things from paintings, like smoke buildup (not nicotine specifically although it may contain some of that, but every day build up in a polluted city area.)
posted by Everydayville at 12:37 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Everydayville at 12:37 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
On the off chance the discoloration is due in part to ageing dammar varnish on acrylic, Winsor & Newton recommends its stronger distilled turpentine solvent for removal, though the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute cautions: Traditional natural varnishes, such as dammar, will yellow in time and the solvent used in their removal will dissolve or soften the acrylic paint layer. Old dammar will also crack and chip, which could've caused the exposed "pure snow" areas.
The procedure: After spot testing, arrange the painting horizontally on a work surface in a well-ventilated area. Lay a solution-soaked cloth across it, wait four or five minutes, then remove the soaked cloth and carefully wipe the surface with a clean, lint-free cloth. Repeat if necessary, minutes at at time. Days later, varnish with a product meant for acrylics as the final step.
Lastly: Everydayville's link goes to Winsor & Newton Artists' Picture Cleaner, a mineral spirits product meant for cleaning varnished oil paintings. Given the uncertainties, start with the weaker mineral spirits. If the spot test goes well, proceed to the full-surface routine.
posted by furtive_jackanapes at 3:07 PM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
The procedure: After spot testing, arrange the painting horizontally on a work surface in a well-ventilated area. Lay a solution-soaked cloth across it, wait four or five minutes, then remove the soaked cloth and carefully wipe the surface with a clean, lint-free cloth. Repeat if necessary, minutes at at time. Days later, varnish with a product meant for acrylics as the final step.
Lastly: Everydayville's link goes to Winsor & Newton Artists' Picture Cleaner, a mineral spirits product meant for cleaning varnished oil paintings. Given the uncertainties, start with the weaker mineral spirits. If the spot test goes well, proceed to the full-surface routine.
posted by furtive_jackanapes at 3:07 PM on September 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
Disclaimer: not a conservator, & definitely not an art conservator!
On similarly fragile surfaces (e.g. degraded plastics & painted finishes coated in unknown tar/grime, filthy & sun-damaged 80-year-old speaker cloths, etc) my go-to first option is a careful but thorough brushing with a very soft brush & light vacuum to remove loose dust, followed by cleaning with a weak mix of unscented fabric softener in warm water - maybe a ½ cap in 30L water, if that; only enough that it j-u-s-t starts to froth when agitated.
Wet a cloth or cotton bud with it, wipe on & gently scrub a small area, wipe off, repeat with clean water, then dab dry.
I've also used the "artist's picture cleaner" mentioned above - it's absolutely fantastic stuff for degraded polymerised oil finishes (e.g. boiled linseed or tung oil, dulled bakelite, etc), but my experience is it's only about as good as the above method for deposited oils/tars/dirt.
posted by Pinback at 5:19 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
On similarly fragile surfaces (e.g. degraded plastics & painted finishes coated in unknown tar/grime, filthy & sun-damaged 80-year-old speaker cloths, etc) my go-to first option is a careful but thorough brushing with a very soft brush & light vacuum to remove loose dust, followed by cleaning with a weak mix of unscented fabric softener in warm water - maybe a ½ cap in 30L water, if that; only enough that it j-u-s-t starts to froth when agitated.
Wet a cloth or cotton bud with it, wipe on & gently scrub a small area, wipe off, repeat with clean water, then dab dry.
I've also used the "artist's picture cleaner" mentioned above - it's absolutely fantastic stuff for degraded polymerised oil finishes (e.g. boiled linseed or tung oil, dulled bakelite, etc), but my experience is it's only about as good as the above method for deposited oils/tars/dirt.
posted by Pinback at 5:19 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
As an acrylics enthusiast, and owner of many thriftshop paintings as well, I have done a bit of research about acrylic paintings. Specifically about long term issues and cleaning.
I've lost my source info, but what I remember is: Acrylic is a young medium. Not much restoration work has been done on them. The problem is that for many years, it was thought that acrylic paintings didn't need a protective coat. Unfortunately, the medium is porous. When it gets dusty or dirty, if it doesn't have a mineral spirit based varnish, there's nowhere to go. You can't take off a layer, and acrylics aren't soluble the way oils are.
My experience: You could literally scrub that painting with a nail brush and Simple Green. (note: I'm not suggesting that you actually do this, unless you want to. For science. Though I have cleaned some of my own paintings with a Simple Green solution and a microfiber cloth when they were fully dried and cured, but still in process, before working on them.) As long as you don't damage the built up paint texture, or the substrate, there's not a lot that will hurt it. But there's not much that will help it either, as far as I know.
I'm not under any illusions about my own artwork, but everything I've ever given away or sold has been varnished with Golden MSM varnish, and come with an offer to attempt a strip and re-finish if something happens. (Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.)
If I were feeling adventuresome, and not overly attatched to the piece, I might try TSP. Because I've never tried it.
posted by monopas at 9:05 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've lost my source info, but what I remember is: Acrylic is a young medium. Not much restoration work has been done on them. The problem is that for many years, it was thought that acrylic paintings didn't need a protective coat. Unfortunately, the medium is porous. When it gets dusty or dirty, if it doesn't have a mineral spirit based varnish, there's nowhere to go. You can't take off a layer, and acrylics aren't soluble the way oils are.
My experience: You could literally scrub that painting with a nail brush and Simple Green. (note: I'm not suggesting that you actually do this, unless you want to. For science. Though I have cleaned some of my own paintings with a Simple Green solution and a microfiber cloth when they were fully dried and cured, but still in process, before working on them.) As long as you don't damage the built up paint texture, or the substrate, there's not a lot that will hurt it. But there's not much that will help it either, as far as I know.
I'm not under any illusions about my own artwork, but everything I've ever given away or sold has been varnished with Golden MSM varnish, and come with an offer to attempt a strip and re-finish if something happens. (Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.)
If I were feeling adventuresome, and not overly attatched to the piece, I might try TSP. Because I've never tried it.
posted by monopas at 9:05 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone -- I don't know what the best answer is yet, but you've given me a lot of options, and I'll be sure to try them all. I appreciate all your help.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:18 AM on September 8, 2017
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:18 AM on September 8, 2017
We once cleaned an extremely filthy painting that was covered in a combo of dirt and what we think was very unevenly applied and yellowed damar varnish using diluted acetone. Also used the classic technique of gently rolling (not rubbing) across the surface with q-tips to clean it. It worked quite well and after it had been finished we resurfaced it using gamvar (a modern non-yellowing varnish)
It was an extremely slow process.
posted by Ferreous at 5:01 PM on September 8, 2017
It was an extremely slow process.
posted by Ferreous at 5:01 PM on September 8, 2017
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posted by fifthpocket at 12:22 PM on September 7, 2017 [1 favorite]