9mo ago

Framing cleaning help

I apologize if this isn’t the correct community ask, but i was hoping for a bit of help getting this frame cleaned up.

My wife and I picked this piece up today. There’s some water damage and i’m wondering what the best way to clean the fabric matting would be or if we should get it replaced.

For those curious it looks like the artist is Edward Aldrich. We think its an oil painting and from the date we’re guessing its from 97.

Thanks everyone!

P.S. I took a look through the community and the art here is amazing!

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7 comments

Not a framer, but what I would do is take it apart and see what you're working with. It shouldn't be hard to replace just the mat. I doubt you'll be able to clean the water damage away.
- Thank you!
  
  As said above - you're going to want to take it apart anyway and see what it's made of. You may be able to clean the fabric - but you'd need to know if it's glued or stretched onto a backing board of some kind first anyway.
  I'd be inclined to replace it or take it to a framers for the amount of effort it may take. It wouldn't be an expensive job.
  If you're interested in home repair options, if the fabric is stretched and pinned/stapled etc (i.e. not glued onto a backing board), you can try unpinning, then cleaning with any general water/mineral stain removal instructions for clothes etc - dabbing, soaking, saliva, detergent, vinegar, chuck it in the washing machine etc, then re-pinning it.
  If it's glued onto a backing board, some of the cleaning might still work, but might be pretty impractical, and you'd perhaps have an easier time painting it.
  You'd need a stain-blocking primer/undercoat otherwise the mark will just seep back through - then you might want a few very thin coats of gesso or other quick undercoat on it, then several very thin coats of waterbased whatever-you-like matt paint on top (no real difference in using household emulsion wall paint or the finest of artists acrylics). Multiple very thin coats will keep the fabric texture more visible.
  I'd be inclined to say replacing it would be a whole lot less hassle :)
  
  I think that settles it for us, we’ll likely take it to a framers when we get home. I’m a bit scared to try and dismantle it myself.
  Thank you for the advice!
  
  Cool. Good luck!
  Just in case it's interesting/relevant, it turns out I've got a couple of a similar type knocking around - in one case, the fabric is simply glued directly to the front of the inset, between the inner and outer moulding (the other one is a fabric coated mountboard between the work and the glazing).
  
  In this case, you'd just tear the fabric off (from the front), try and clean up some glue residue off the backing, then stick some freshly cut fabric in its place.
  Technically, you wouldn't need unframe the work for that - but it's still probably safer to do so.
  Anyway, let us know how you get on with the framers - and give us a before/after photo :)
  
  Thanks again, will do! I think we’re gonna try and get it in next week so I’ll keep you update when we get it wrapped up!

7 comments