Surface Cleaning
Dry and solvent tests before any wider clean, with stopping points agreed if the paint layer is thin or unstable.
Art restoration and careful repairs
Stabilise First. Improve Second.
A family painting should not come back looking falsely new. Duncan Art looks first at what is loose, dirty, torn, acidic or unsafe, then decides what can be improved without erasing the age of the object.
What We Attempt
Restoration Services
Varnish Removal
Assessment of old varnish, smoke staining and bloom. Sometimes a partial reduction is safer than a full strip.
Tear Repair
Small canvas tears, punctures and edge damage repaired with support from behind and retouching only where needed.
Lining Advice
Advice on whether a weak canvas needs lining or whether better stretcher tension and local repair are enough.
Frame Repairs
Loose joints, missing slips, rubbed edges and minor gilding touch-ins on frames that belong with the picture.
Paper Flattening
Gentle flattening and remounting for works on paper where cockling, acidic tape or poor backing has caused trouble.
Photograph Mounting
Family photographs re-backed or remounted using safer boards, without trying to make an old print look digitally perfect.
Minor Gilding Touch-Ins
Small visual repairs to rubbed gilt frames. Complete regilding is quoted only when it is sensible.
Assessment And Pricing
Written Estimates Before Work Starts
Restoration consultations are by appointment, usually Tuesday or Thursday mornings. The inspection fee is £45 and is credited if the work proceeds. Labour is £72 per hour, with written estimates before starting. Most small repairs fall between £120 and £480.
- Inspection
- £45, credited against accepted work
- Labour
- £72 per hour
- Minimum repair
- Minimum hands-on repair charge: £45
- Typical range
- £120-£480 for most small repairs
- Lead time
- Normally 4-8 weeks, 10-12 weeks for badly torn or water-damaged work
- Deposit
- 50% on all restoration work
Before You Bring It
Keep It Safe Until We See It
- Take photographs in daylight and email them to hello@duncanart.com if the picture is large, wet, smoky or actively flaking.
- Do not use household cleaners, furniture polish, bread, potatoes or online varnish tricks on paint or gilding.
- Keep broken glass separate from the picture surface. If shards are trapped under the frame, carry it flat.
- Do not tape torn paper. Fresh pressure-sensitive tape can become the most expensive part of the repair.
- Wrap large works in clean dry cotton or bubble wrap with the bubbles facing out, not pressed into paint.
Found Behind Pictures
Not Every Mark Is Damage
I have opened Perth pictures and found pencilled hanging notes from a great-grandfather, a framers’ label from a shop that closed before I was born, folded newspaper used as a packer and, once, a child’s spelling list tucked behind a photograph of her aunt. None of those things improve the image in the middle, but they can explain where the object has been and who cared enough to keep it. When we reframe or repair, we do not automatically throw that evidence away. We may photograph it, sleeve it, rehouse it behind a new backing or return it separately to the owner. Conservation is not only about the visible surface. Sometimes the quiet information on the back is the reason the picture still matters.
Quiet Warning
Some Damage Needs Isolation
- Active mould must be treated or isolated by a specialist conservator before it enters the main workshop.
- Waterlogged paper and canvas can transfer damp to other jobs. Email photographs first and wait for an appointment.
- Heavy smoke damage may need staged assessment, especially when nicotine has softened varnish or stained paper.
- We do not restore banknotes, passports, legal documents or anything intended to deceive about age or condition.