peashooter85:

eliciaforever:

beyoursledgehammer:

steampunktendencies:

A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish
Courtesy Philip Mould

PAINT RESTORATION OF MESMERIZING

I saw this on Twitter. He’s using acetone, but a cellulose ether has been added to make it into a gel (probably Klucel—this entire gel mixture is sometimes just called Klucel by restorers, but Klucel is specifically the stuff that makes the gel). 

Normally, acetone is too volatile for restoration, but when it’s a gel, it becomes very stable and a) stays on top of the porous surface of the painting, and b) won’t evaporate. So it can eat up the varnish.

It looks scary, but acetone has no effect on oils, and jelly acetone is even less interactive with the surface of the paint or canvas.

IDK if I like this. The grime and dirt is a part of history too just as much as the painting itself. Even when I restore Roman coins I try to leave some dirt and definitely go out of my way to preserve the patina. I don’t just make it shiny and bright like a new penny. It gives it character.