Over time, dust and dirt will naturally darken this oil painting.
Oil paintings can darken over time due to a natural accumulation of dirt and debris. While you can purchase professional cleaning agents and tools and attempt to remove the grime yourself, you run a large risk of removing some of the paint along with the dirt. According to Mrs. Biddington of Biddington Art Gallery and Appraisal, "...take the painting to a professional restorer or leave it as is. The likelihood of your destroying the piece in an attempted cleaning is quite high." However, you can take measures yourself to remove at least some of the caked-on dirt and dust.
Instructions
1. Take the painting outside to prevent making a mess within your home. Find an area out of direct sunlight. Set the painting upright on top of an old piece of cloth.
2. Rip one of your sourdough loaves in half. Grab a hunk of bread from inside the loaf, where it is doughiest.
3. Scrub the painting gently with the chunk of doughy bread. As you scrub, you will see dirt, but not paint, sticking to the surface of the bread. Repeat with a fresh chunk of bread. Continue until you have addressed every area of the painting.
4. Brush the entire surface of the painting with your soft-bristled house painting brush. Inspect the painting thoroughly to make sure that you don't have any remaining crumbs sticking to the surface of the painting as that will cause insects to gravitate towards it.
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