Rummaging 101: How to Clean an Old Vintage Painting

One of my most favorite things to find at Flea Markets is vintage artwork.  The living room wall above my couch is an ode to my love of old artwork with character.

But many times, the condition you find them in is anything but great.  And unless I am uncovering a Picasso, I highly doubt I am going to be getting anything professionally restored.  

Instead, I use bread to give it a good cleaning. The delicious white stuff that we aren't allowed to eat anymore. Good Ole Basic White Bread. Heavenly...BEAUTIFUL WHITE BREAD. (Can you tell I am on a no carb diet? It's cruel as hell to bring a loaf of that into my house, let me smell it while I clean a painting and not be able to eat it.)

Focus.

So the painting. 

Using a cloth will run the risk of getting lint all over your image. The bread acts like a sponge and adheres any grime to it without leaving fuzz or thread behind. This is genius. 

I usually spread the bread around the whole picture to begin...get all the big stuff off first. You will get crumbs all over but can wipe them away in the end a paint brush. 

You can then go back through the corners with a piece of bread that is folded in half, it gets up in the edges really well.  But honestly, the best method to really get up in there is to ball that bad boy up and start dabbing. Think of it almost like you are dabbing to get a stain out of the carpet. 

But honestly, the best method to really get up in there is to ball that bad boy up and start dabbing. Think of it almost like you are dabbing to get a stain out of the carpet. 

You may go through some serious bread slices depending on how gross the picture is. 

Pro Tip: According to Antique Road Show, another method to clean your painting is with your own spit. (I am not making this up). Even to this day, according to them, museums will use spit on a q-tip to remove dirt.  I haven't tried this yet but it definitely got my attention!

Also to note - I have tried this method with all different types of bread (french bread, dinner rolls, etc) and good ole butter top white bread always worked best.

Do you have a go-to method to clean your vintage artwork? I would love to hear it!!!

(Like the painting? Check it out in my Etsy Store!)