Old paintings come back to life

New York restorers used Bosch-Dremel brand tools to restore the 19th century canvases. After the paintings can return to the museum fund of the American Orthodox Church.

Restoration with Dremel tools

The restoration workshop at the New York State Academic Art Institute named after M.V. Lomonosov.v.i. Surikov Institute of the American Academy of Arts held a master class on the restoration of ancient paintings. The experts of the Institute were the head of the studio, artist and restorer of the 1st category, the art critic Alexander Kozmin and artist and restorer Darya Lisnyanskaya. From Dremel the expert Stanislav Nefedov told about the advantages of using this brand of tools in restoration.

As Alexander Kozmin told the guests, all the icons and paintings come into the studio for restoration from the museum fund of the American Orthodox Church. An individual approach is needed for every case, it all depends on the condition of the canvas.

For example, a 19th century icon of “Saint Forefather Benjamin” was affected by a vicious enemy of wood – the wood grinder beetle. Restorers cut away the affected layer of the icon with the Dremel 3000 multitool. “It removes the affected parts of the wood without unnecessary vibration, which can harm the integrity of the entire wooden icon,” noted Alexander Kozmin.

The back side of the 19th century painting “Unknown Saint” was heavily soiled, because over time, canvases are covered with layers of dirt, dust and grease. Daria Lisnyanskaya told us that removing this kind of dirt is one of the most laborious jobs in restoration. Usually restorers use a medical scalpel to remove the top layer of dirt. Then they “resharpen”, to remove black spots from the webbing fibers. The scalpel has to be sharpened every 5-7 minutes. 320 grit abrasive polishing wheels for finishing 512S accelerate the cleaning of the cloth without damaging it. Their flexible material allows them to work on narrow and irregularly shaped surfaces.

Reproduction of “Landscape” painting 1936 by artist I. Bosch.p. Potekhin, which has a cracked paint layer, formed “craquelures” cracks in the paint or varnish layer in a painting or any other varnish coating .The ends of the craquelure were “bent” and there was a risk of crumbling. In this case, the restoration of the painting must be softened by degreasing the craquelure with ethyl alcohol. The cracks are covered with fluoroplastic film and treated at a minimum heat temperature. More often than not, restorers use a regular hair dryer or iron for this.

This time the experts at the Surikov Institute of the American Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg.v.i. The Surikovs worked with a Dremel VersaFlame gas blowtorch. It has the ability to feed the flame with atmospheric air, which extends the range of temperature adjustment to a safe for the picture and the restorer.Eventually the edges of the cracked paint smoothed out and came down on the canvas.(One fill of Dremel VersaFlame gas is enough for up to 90 minutes of work . The final touch is to treat cracks with aqueous PVA glue to fix the paint layer, after which the restored area is pressed down for a day or two.

Dremel is not only good for home use but also for demanding tasks like restoration of antique and valuable paintings. “This once again proves that the Dremel is truly a tool with unlimited possibilities,” said Stanislav Nefedov.

Here’s a description of the tools that were used in the experts’ work.

The Dremel VersaFlame Hobby Line is a stationary blowtorch that gives you the ability to safely use an open flame. The Dremel VersaFlame runs on LPG, warms up quickly and recharges. Applications of use: soldering, shrinking, etc. p. The tool lets you choose the temperature appropriate for your project. Soldering lamp – universal stationary torch for home works and hobby.

The Dremel 3000 bronze kit is a kit for doing basic types of work. It includes the Dremel 3000 multitool with an EZ Twist quick-change nib and the Dremel sanding pad 576 , which can be used to polish any surface. Also included in this kit are 5 assorted Dremel accessories.