Track Mangoes

TO SAVE A PAINTING FROM MOLD
Acrylic on canvas















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This was how I found the painting. As you can see, the "archival" paper backing was melded to the actual cloth painting itself. The painting was suffering from mildew stains and severe fogging.

First Thing's First: you need to get that icky backing off the painting because it is causing the problems in the first place.




In order to remove the backing you need to soak the whole unit in a hot acid bath. I used lemon juice. After awhile the paper backing should peel right off the cloth. There was tape melded to the cloth too, so you need to be careful with that if it is there.

Wear a mask. Mold spores hurt the lungs.

Next thing you want to do is discard the culprit, in this case the archived backing. Then take a softbrush.

I used a toothbrush, and brush away the mold. It should come off and you can feel the slimey places you missed.

Give it lots of love. It needs it.

After you're done brushing you need to drain out the water that is now infected with spores. Clean out your basin and rinse the painting in another acid bath. FRESH water man.




Dry the painting on a flat surface. I used a hairdryer and check for spots of mold that you've missed.








The end result was pretty nifty. The mold stains went away for the most part, but are still there. Just faintly. The painting dried relatively flat and hopefully it will be as nice looking as this for another 10 years.