A remarkable Jacobean re-emergence after 200 years of yellowing varnish Courtesy Philip Mould
PAINT RESTORATION OF MESMERIZING
I saw this on Twitter. He’s using acetone, but a cellulose ether has been added to make it into a gel (probably Klucel—this entire gel mixture is sometimes just called Klucel by restorers, but Klucel is specifically the stuff that makes the gel).
Normally, acetone is too volatile for restoration, but when it’s a gel, it becomes very stable and a) stays on top of the porous surface of the painting, and b) won’t evaporate. So it can eat up the varnish.
It looks scary, but acetone has no effect on oils, and jelly acetone is even less interactive with the surface of the paint or canvas.
When I was a kid I HOARDED every girl hair and kept them separate in my room because I could make batgirl or a cowgirl or or… anything i wanted! It let you do whatever you want! My parents got me a mega blocks girly dollhouse lego knock off for christmas, and it was mostly used as a secret base for spies masquerading as a normal family.
Horrible confession time.
The only thing I ever stole from a friend was girl hair from her lego bin. SHE HAD SO MANY GIRL HAIRS. I was eight and so weak.
After she moved away, I mailed the three I stole to her in a lumpy envelope with no return address and no explanation. To this day, I wonder what she made of that.
Sometimes I pretend I live here. Mostly I just wander and get lost in the details.
