Paintings and other arts catch dust, grease and forms unwanted molds. If not cleaned regularly, they don’t look as beautiful as they used to. A painting is a form of artifact that needs special attention and care while cleaning or restoring, especially when it is old and rare.
Cleaning and maintenance of the paintings need to be done with a lot of patience and tolerance because they are different from normal household things. For household things, cleaning can be done by using soap or cleaning agents. But for paintings the same soap and cleaning agent should not be used because they may spoil your art/painting.
To get the art/painting cleaned take help of a professional. As he is trained in that specific area he will know the procedure that is required to clean the art and will use the solution that is recommended.
If you think you don’t need professional help, and if you are doing it yourself for the first time, you should be very careful while cleaning the art, otherwise you may damage it. Better to start cleaning from one corner and leave it for some time. By doing so, you will get to know whether the solution or chemical that you are using is suitable.
If dust has accumulated, use a small and dry brush to get rid of the dust over it. Do it very slowly and carefully. If it is taken out from the frame for cleaning purpose, do not keep it out for long as it may be sensitive to pollution. Also, do not expose the artifact to sun for more time because its colour may get faded.
It may be necessary sometimes to take off the varnish from the painting (varnish protects the original painting when applied on it). Taking off the varnish is not that easy and only professionals are capable of doing it, and they do it without damaging the art. They use special equipment and chemicals to remove the varnish layer-by-layer and will re-varnish the art to get the look back. If they find small dents or chipped off pieces they will fix them.
While restoring the painting, don’t use acidic paperback or tapes to hold it firm because they fade the original painting. The frame should not come in contact with the painting.
Cleaning and restoring the paintings and other objects need sophistication. You need to handle the picture with utmost care to make sure that it retains the original appearance.