How do I clean up/varnish/frame a painting I did years ago?

[Hthwo]

I used to paint a bit and have a couple shoved in a cupboard somewhere. There’s one in particular I’d like to frame but I never varnished it and it’s probably a bit dusty. What would I need to do? Might there bit somewhere I could take it where they would clean it/varnish it before they framed it? It’s an oil painting. I never got to the stage of learning how to varnish stuff.

I would just dust it off with a soft brush and then varnish it. You can buy spray varnish, or liquid varnish that you brush on (buy both from an art shop). You can choose matt, satin or gloss finish, I like the satin it's not quite as full on as the gloss.

Just to add I'm assuming this is canvas on stretchers, or board, not just on paper.

Varnishing it is easy, there are YouTube videos that will tell you how to do that. Personally I use a spray-on oil-painting varnish in a can by Winsor and Newton. It means I don't have to worry about avoiding brush marks and I find it much easier and quicker to apply. (Don't buy retouching varnish, that's for a slightly different purpose than a final finish)

There are choices of matt, satin and gloss varnishes, I use gloss varnish based on the advice of a few on-line professional painters, but it's personal choice.

Cleaning the painting before varnishing it is a bit more tricky, if it's only dusty, then you easily can brush the dust away with a dry paintbrush. If it's a bit grimy then personally I'd test a corner of it first, and if it seemed to be okay, then I'd be happy to clean it carefully with a lint free cloth very slightly dampened with water mixed with a little washing up liquid. (Never use oil or alcohol to clean an oil painting as it as it can affect the paint). But you would do that at your own risk. I find oil paintings pretty resilient but I guess it depends how you put your paint layers on.

Thanks for the advice. I need to dig it out and have a good look at it. I wouldn’t think it’d be grimy, but from memory the colours aren’t quite as vibrant as they were, maybe just a bit of dust.

It’s canvas on a wooden frame - I guess that’s what you mean by stretchers?

Would it make sense to find a frame for it?

Yes, that is what I meant by stretchers. If it's on stretchers and looks ok I'd just hang it as it is without framing. Just paint the sides if they need a tidy up, and put some hooks and wire on the back.

Thank you 😊

Just to add about the hooks - they are called eyelet hooks. You just press them into the inside sides of the stretchers and screw one in either side, the wood should be fairly soft so you can screw them in. Then get the wire (or string if it's a light painting) and thread it through both hooks.

Or if it's not too big (less than about 70cm x 90cm) just use command strips to stick it to the wall.

You don't need to varnish it at all really, but you've said you think it has faded, and the varnish will help intensify the colours a bit. Also, don't hang it anywhere sunny.

An as PP said, don't buy retouching varnish, it's something different (to use between layers when you are actually painting a painting).

If the sides of the painting are white and you want to repaint them if they have got dirty, get some primer from the art shop. You could use white oil paint but it will take forever to dry.

Or white acrylic paint is also fine for the sides.

A gloss varnish may make your colours come seem more like when it was painted. There's an artist here who talks about the difference a gloss varnish can make

You can use a retouching varnish if you have some on hand. I don't use any other, personally.

Without going into a lengthy description, it is a kind of temporary varnish that can be used as a final varnish.

The main difference is it is reversible, which means it can be removed and reapplied, whereas a permanent varnish is exactly that, ie, permanent!