Removing stand oil varnish

At CCMC we have been approached by local contemporary artist to
'remove' a layer of stand oil which he had been mistakenly advised
by an art store to use as a final 'varnish' layer over a series of
oil paintings.  The paintings are only 2 years old, however the
stand oil 'varnish' has discoloured dramatically in this time.

The artist is very alarmed by this colour change over largely
white/pale coloured paint and has requested our help in its removal.
While being cognisant of the difficulty of removing this oil layer
from 'fresh' oil paint, we have attempted some options using various
acetone based Wolber's gels combined with mechanical action such as
erasers and/or scalpel to pare back the upper layer.  However, these
various processes have had limited success and resulting surface is
patchy.

We would welcome any input from painting conservators who might have
suggestions for an alternative approach to removal of this
discoloured layer.  Overpainting is an last resort, but one which
must be considered.

Caroline Fry
Painting Conservator
The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation
Commercial Conservation Services
UoM Commercial Ltd
Victorian Archives Centre
99 Shiel Street
North Melbourne VIC, 3051
+61 3 9348 5749
Fax: +61 3 9348 5656


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:10
                  Distributed: Thursday, July 30, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-29-10-011
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