How do we arrive at an estimate of cost?

Sorry, there are no simple answer to this question as every painting is unique!

Straight forward 'cleaning and varnishing' is relatively inexpensive. However, there are important considerations to the many variables inherent in oil painting restoration.

Please see 'The Steps in Restoring' and our many 'Recent Examples' where you can see a range of paintings where the work involved varied widely.

We can of course provide 'ball park' figures if you supply photos - however, as our examples clearly illustrate, this can only be used as a guide until we actually examine the work.

Summarised below are some obvious considerations. More details and background can be found in the 'Help and Advice' section.

Old Master Paintings - circa 1200 to the early 19th Century

• Generally they are covered with years of discoloured, dirty varnish.
• Careful tests must be carried out as we never know what has been done previously.
• Even then 'local damage' or 'previous restoration' may only show up later as work progresses. - We always keep the client fully informed.
• Old Masters worked with refined pigments. These are costly, difficult to colour match and more time consuming to apply.
• Some old masters can be VERY fragile!.

We never know what we may discover, it could simply be unsightly craquelure, ‘reorganised landscapes’ and ‘cosmetic adjustments’ or even attempts to significantly change certain aspects of the original picture - the removal of the ex wife from an equestrian double portrait by George Stubbs, is perhaps the most notorious example.

However, the most positive revelation is the all important signature! Sometimes concealed by old varnish, and in the most unexpected part of the picture, a signature can inflate the market value significantly.

Modern Paintings - Early 19th Century to date

• Many artist experimented with new techniques and products.
• Modern 'tube' paints have different bases and synthetic pigments that react differently to various cleaning solvents.
• Even 'relatively old' paint may still not be 'fully dry' so extra care must be taken.
• Spot testing does not always highlight 'water based' mixed with 'oil based' in a painting.
• Thick empasto paint forms deep crevasses that hold onto stubborn grime and discolours the paint unevenly - it is very difficult to remove!

UV Light Analysis

Usually an initial scan with a UV lamp can perhaps reveal previous restoration. We will report this before any cleaning is attempted.

Localised Damage - Considerations

If an old and dirty painting has damage to an isolated area, it is extremely difficult to perform a successful 'localised restoration job’.

In essence you become embroiled in all kinds of technical and aesthetic problems.
• First you literally create a ‘mini crater’ in the painting surface.
• Next you have to 'fill it back in' working outwards with the original materials.
• Finally trying to conceal the 'fresh' colour and match the ‘dirty’ surface varnishes.

This repair process can be just as time consuming as a normal complete restoration. It can work in certain circumstances - but we 'generally' don't recommend it!