What method do I use to clean an oil painting that has soot on it from a fire?

The oil painting is owned by my mother-in-law who just survived a fire next to her apartment. Everything in her apartment is covered with a fine coat of soot. When I run my finger across the top of a picture frame there's black soot. This is her favorite and only painting. Most of her things will be replaced or cleaned by her apartment manager, except this picture. We don't know where to go on this.What method do I use to clean an oil painting that has soot on it from a fire?
NEVER use water to clean your canvas. It will make it's way through tiny cracks and de-solve the gesso underneath, resulting in the top paint layer flaking off.


You can buy paint cleaner in Art stores. Use this very sparingly!





The insurance should cover the cost of having the paint restored by a professional. Have a look in the yellow pages under 'restorers'.What method do I use to clean an oil painting that has soot on it from a fire?
I'm no expert restorer, but I've cleaned a few canvases with my professor.


Oil paint is pretty sturdy, especially if it's been varnished and has a smooth surface.


Remove it from the frame before cleaning.


Before doing anything to clean the painting, test the method on a corner. If anything disastrous happens, better for it to be there than right in the middle.


An old trick for restoring is to gently rub white bread over the surface of the canvas. Dirt and grime tends to stick to the bread, which flakes off like an eraser.


You could also try using pure water (distilled) and carefully dab with a damp sponge or cotton ball. It only needs to be wet enough that dirt sticks to it.





If that's not enough you may need to very carefully clean it with (gentle) soap and water. Make sure you never soak the canvas, use just enough water to clean. If you're looking at preserving for a few more decades, be careful about what soap you use, maybe look into something made (or at least approved) for cleaning paintings.





Depending on the quality of the paint surface, you may need to use different kinds of mechanical cleaning. You shoul always be careful and don't be rough with the painted surface, but special care must be taken if the paint is cracked or flaking. If you need to use soap, I wouldn't use anything rougher than a very soft brush on flaking paint.





If the surface is smooth, you could wipe it gently with a soft brush or sponge or cloth.





Perhaps most importantly, you should clean it soon. The longer you wait, the more the dirt on the surface will set into the paint, and be extremely hard to clean. We had one canvas recently which has been lost on the other side of the world since 1992, and the dust was bonded to the surface... none of the above methods worked, we're still trying to get it cleaned off.