TIPs To Clean A Canvas Painting Without Damaging It

Notes and tips to clean a canvas painting, as the wrong method can damage your artwork permanently.

Autumn is coming. We often think of cleaning the house after the dry summer. Canvas paintings are easy dusty objects, leading to discoloration. So you need to clean them up to start a new season. Now we will go over when to clean canvas paintings, how to clean canvas art, and how to protect your paintings from getting dirty in the first place.

Tips to clean a canvas painting
Tips to clean a canvas painting

1. 3 causes of dirty or discolored canvas painting

tips to clean a canvas painting
Tips to clean a canvas painting
  • The first obvious reason is that after a long time you do not clean the painting, it becomes densely dusted.
  • The second reason may be that you have not preserved the paintings properly. Usually, many careful owners will protect the paintings with a layer of glass. However, for frameless canvas paintings, it will be difficult to frame the glass, preservation also becomes impossible. In addition, canvas prints can also be damaged from extreme temperatures and humidity.
  • The last reason is that you chose poor-quality paintings. Therefore canvas fabric and wooden frames will easily rot, tear and break over time.

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2. 3 easy tips for cleaning a canvas painting

For dust or visible particles accumulating on the surface of your artwork, you can do the simple cleaning yourself at home, and we offer a few tips below.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Tips to clean a canvas painting. Image via pinterest.com.

2.1. Find the sturdy surface to place canvas artwork

When you start to clean the canvas artwork, you need to place it on a sturdy surface to avoid any unfortunate events such as dropping the picture from the wall or breaking the stretcher when placing it on a rough surface. With this in mind, find a clean, sturdy, and dry area where you can safely display and clean your painting such as the living room table or the floor. This is especially important for paintings without a steady backing.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Find the sturdy surface to place canvas artwork

2.2. Remove dust on the canvas prints

You can blow away dust on canvas with a can of compressed air or a vacuum cleaner with a blowing function. With tiny dust particles stuck deep in the canvas, this is the best way to blow out the dust.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Remove dust on the canvas prints

If there were dust or spiderwebs on the canvas, you probably haven’t cleaned it for a long time. Use a brush or vacuum cleaner to remove any dust and grime on the surface of the painting. Repeat this process with obvious sections of dirt or dust.

2.3. Use only dry cloth to clean a canvas painting

Use a dry cloth to wipe the canvas. Make sure you only use a dry towel to clean the picture and do not use any other cleaning materials such as cleaning solution, water, etc. as it will permanently damage your painting.

Don’t forget to turn the canvas back and use a cotton swab to clean the crevices and grooves of the frame stretcher.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Use only dry cloth to clean a canvas painting

3. Notes for cleaning artwork

3.1. Do not use cleaning chemicals

Many people think chemicals and cleaning solutions will be able to help remove dust and look new after cleaning. However, cleaning chemicals are abrasive and have color-changing properties. They can wear away your canvas. Don’t risk using them, or else your painting will be destroyed.

3.2. Do not use water or wet cloth

As mentioned above, you should use a dry cloth to clean the canvas because mold can happen to your painting when you use water to remove dirt. Canvas artwork, if not dried after cleaning with water, can cause the painting to become wet and moldy in the long run. However, drying the picture too much will cause the canvas to become stiff and lose its original shape.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Tips to clean a canvas painting

4. How to protect the canvas painting from damage

tips to clean a canvas painting
Tips to clean a canvas painting

4.1. Keep canvas paintings in the right place

If you want to keep canvas prints always new, you should avoid hanging them in a humid location. It is ideal to place your paintings in an area with lower humidity, fewer variations in temperature, and totally dry.

tips to clean a canvas painting
Keep canvas paintings in the right place

4.2. Avoid direct sunlight

The UV rays from the sun can make your canvas artwork fade, and the sun also breaks the strength of the canvas down. Therefore you should keep all your paintings out of direct sunlight. If you hang it in front of the window, pull the curtains to minimize sunlight shining into the canvas.

4.3. Protect your canvas prints with a mirror box or wrap

Another way to preserve your canvas art prints is to cover each one with a wrap or mirror box. When you use these two materials, it prevents dust, cobwebs, and grime.

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We use environmentally friendly and high-quality materials to create unique canvas paintings so you can be assured of good color retention, waterproof, and no stains over time. There are many options for you, including ideas that you can refer to and create your own canvas painting for your home or gifts of artwork for your family and friends. We are sure that you will be successful with our tips to clean canvas paintings.