Amateur Painting from the 70s . . . How to Clean It?

Hi all,

First off, Merry (belated) Christmas!

At .99 cents I couldn't leave this (acrylic) painting in the thrift shop. No doubt someone will say (or at least think!) I should have!

I think it's a small fishing vessel.

Does anyone know best to do a DIY cleaning?

Also, does anyone have a clue about the numbers on the boat, the artist's initials (they look like GLS to me) or the SteeveR on the back?

Thanks!

 

Might help if I show the back!

 

Damp cloth might do it... not wet, just damp. Otherwise try turpentine or mineral spirits. First, a light test patch to see if the paint is being affected.

 

A little cabin cruiser. Fully amateur but very charming.

Debora

 

Not sure what's safe on paint. It's definitely amateur hour, but the colors are nice. Looks like it was done from a photo for the owner of the boat.

 

If it is acrylic, use warm water. You may have to go over it a few times depending on what it is. Don't scrub, just apply a small amount of pressure. I've used mild dish washing soap on a large painting that had dried coffee stains on one side. The warm water was not enough to get it off. I used a paper towel and dipped it into the soapy water and squeezed out all the excess. After all the stains were removed, I wiped it again with plain warm water to remove the soap residue.

After you clean an area, you might have to wipe down the entire painting depending on how dirty it is or that cleaned spot, will stick out.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and comments. I'm away from the painting for a few days but will clean it and post the results when I return.

 

Spit on a cotton swab is worth a try as well.

 

Strikes me as a bit older then the '70's . . . maybe something done by a teen in the 50's. The older, the more likely it's oil paint.

 

The registration number -- if you can read it and its not fanciful -- would give you the state of registry and identify the specific boat (although that information may not be available on the internet.) To my eye, looks like the first letter is N but the registration numbers of all U.S. states beginning with N begin with two letters.

That may be the owner's name on back. S. Teever or Steever (more likely.) And there's a date under the artist's initials. What does it read?

Debora

 

It appears to read 70

 

I did the warm water so far and these are the results . . .


Before:



After:


Before:


After:



Before:



After:

 

It looks to me like H33785A

 

There's only one state that starts with an H and the Hawaii registration abbreviation is HA.

Debora

 

Try saliva. Seriously. Sometimes it's prettified as "enzyme cleaning".

 

I'm giggling.

Debora

 

It's as old school as it gets.

 

I use saliva on oil paintings, never tried it on acrylic. It can't hurt since acrylic is actually a plastic.