Restoration request

[Michele Rushworth]

A friend of mine has asked if I might be able to repair a painting she owns that was recently damaged. It's a portrait of her grandmother when she was young and it apparently has a big scuff mark across it which occurred at a party they had not long ago.

I have not yet seen the damage, though I am familiar with the painting. I am confident that I could repair the damage to the paint layer and match the colors well.

My problem is this: I do not know what type of varnish is on the painting or how to safely remove it. I thought perhaps I would recommend that my friend contact a reputable restoration service to remove the varnish, and then I could touch up the paint layer and apply new varnish. (They probably could not afford to have the pros do the entire restoration, and I would do that part of it for free.)

Have any of you had a similar experience or have suggestions as to how I should approach this?

[Timothy C. Tyler]

I've done some of these when work has mainly sentimental value. I never feel quite qualified, but the piece always looks fine, which is all they want. When you see the bad restoration jobs in museums it bolsters your confidence. At least you can match color and paint-I'm not they always can.

[Chris Saper]

Michele,

I have a restorer friend, and he has nightmarish anecdotes about trying to remove unknown varnish.

If it was me, I'd pursue the road you suggest, and have someone else who was qualified do the removal; then you could take it forward from there.

[Chris Saper]

Michele,

How did this end up working out?

[Michele Rushworth]

It looked as if the painting had not been varnished, after all, once I got a look at it. I just mixed up several different colors and touched up the long scuff mark and in less than half an hour it was done. My friend was happy and now, I suppose, I can add "art restorer" to my resume!