Can you clean artwork with a potato and onion? This was ALREADY cleaned once!

Can you believe that someone already restored this painting and cleaned it in the process?! I have actually been asked if cleaning a painting's dirty varnish and grime is done with a slice of potato! That's right... I've also been asked if a slice of onion works. (sigh... unbelievable...) Ok, here are a couple of tips besides DON'T use a slice of potato or onion (they'll encourage mold and bacteria in the cracks of your artwork... and they don't work): Don't ever use an off the shelf cleaner (ie 409, Windex etc.). So actually my tip is not how to do it... its what NOT to do if you value your artwork! More artwork is damaged by inept cleaning than any other source of damage! (there sure are a lot of exclamation points in the blog entry... sorry!)


Look at the difference in this varnish and crud removal! Wow... we do this all the time and WE are still surprised to see the beautiful color unveiled and appear from the depths below.

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