This is the architectural rendering designed for the Met Life Insurance housing project, in Parkchester South, Bronx, NY. It was painted on a 4×8 foot plywood panel. It was discovered in a basement and incredibly dirty. It was very faded, and when we started testing it we found out that it was a drawing with fine lines and watercolor paint, not oil paint as the client originally thought. This was quite a challenge because it would be very easy to loose the color, and lines when cleaning. We did however find a way to gently restore the color, but only with grueling patience i.e. q-tips all the way. That said, this work was safely restored to it’s original beauty.
Here below are the before and after photos, with some photos showing the process along the way. The client was super happy and this ended up in their conference room.
Before restoration
Fully restored
Unpacking and testing the painting to see how to clean it
Detail of partially cleaned painting
Detail of cleaned painting
Painting being varnished