Wax emulsion for cleaning painting on masonite

We have a mid-20th century French painting on Masonite--with nothing
between the support and the paint.  The paint layer is thin, and the
Masonite is somewhat deteriorated.

On the surface is a combination of greasy dirt--probably cigarette
smoke--and a very discolored resin.  Cleaning with any
liquid--solvents or water--starts the cleaning process but very
quickly leads to tiny dots of paint loss.  The liquids probably go
through the thin paint layer and undermine the paint.  Gels would
not seem to be useful, but any comments to the contrary would be
appreciated.

We are wondering if a wax emulsion might do the trick.  Does anyone
have a formula for a wax-emulsion that might be useful?

Thanks,

Paul Himmelstein
Appelbaum and Himmelstein LLC
444 Central Park West
New York, NY  10025
212-666-4630
Fax: 212-316-1039


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:32
                Distributed: Thursday, February 20, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-32-036
                                  ***