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How to clean a watercolour
painting:
Watercolour
paintings, because of their difficulty to clean, should to be stored in
frames with glass, even when not on display. This is simply to keep them
from being exposed to the elements and getting ruined.
But what
do you do if you have a watercolour painting that was not stored
properly? How do you clean it? For obvious reasons you can't use a damp
towel or any kind of liquid. This makes actual stains which are
virtually impossible to get out. So what do you do?
Most people
would tell you to take the painting to a professional. I would agree if
your painting is at all stained or is in any way valuable. However, if
the painting is only dusty or has a light amount of dirt on it, don't
spend a lot of money getting it cleaned when you can do it yourself for
less than a couple of pounds using only a loaf of bread and a soft
bristled brush.
I heard about this method on line and I tried it
myself. It really works.
The bread must be soft and doughy. When
cleaning the painting, the bread will crumble easily and gets dirty
fast, so you may need to get more than one loaf of bread, depending on
the size of your painting.
Take the painting outside, or put it
on a large drop cloth (this procedure is messy). Then, using the bread
from the centre of the loaf (no crust) dab or gently rub the painting.
The bread will pick up the dust and dirt, leaving the painting clean.
After you have finished cleaning the painting, use a soft bristled
brush to gently brush away the excess crumbs.
As with anything,
remember you do this at your own risk. My personal disclaimer is that it
may not work on all watercolours, but it worked for me.
If you
can't get the painting clean, or if you just can't bring yourself to try
this, then call in the professionals
Good luck! |
