Getting rid of mould from paintings

[Mary Lever]

Hi
Is there any way of getting rid of or reducing mould on a painting?

[Roboframer]

There soitenly is!

Step one - phone a conservator......

[Mary Lever]

Thanks for the advice! Just wondered whether there was anything that a non-specialist paper conservator could do to improve the pic.

[Bill Henry]

Over here, we have paper conservators and canvas conservators. From what I gather, the skills and techniques are significantly different. Each is such a specialty that I haven’t seen anyone who claims to be able to restore both paper and canvas.

I’ve taken a crack at moldy paper on occasion, but I wouldn’t dream of messing with an oil or acrylic on canvas. Too many opportunities to flub it up.

[MITREMAN]

Hi Mary,
Interesting link on the subject below

http://painting.about.com/od/paintingfo ... Qmould.htm

Best left to the experts thou...

MITREMAN

[Mary Lever]

Thanks for the link...interesting. As you say, I think I better not risk experimenting with the customer's watercolour.

[Not your average framer]

Cleaning the after effects of mould and eradicating the mould are two different things. Just cleaning it will not get rid of it.

To eradicate the mould will will need to kill it, that means every last spore. Conservators do this in different ways according to the matterials being treated.

If the subject for treatment is on paper, then the traditional method is by fumigation with vapourised thymus. This is a dangerous procedure and requires specialist equipment, training, knowledge and a safe method of disposal of the thymus after use. Significant exposure to thymus fumes is deadly to all organic life forms.

This is a clear case where using a conservator who knows what they are doing is worth every penny.