How-to: Clean a Painting

...with a Loaf of Bread?

When researching how to clean watercolor or oil paintings yourself at home, we were surprised to find this method that involves a loaf of bread...

From Howcast:

1: "Decide whether you can clean the painting yourself. If it’s extremely valuable or an antique, use a professional."
2: "Gently dust the painting with a soft-bristle brush. As you’re using the brush, imagine that you’re dusting pollen from flower petals."
3: "Use the inside of the bread to remove any dirt. Break off a piece of bread and gently rub a section of the painting. When that piece is dirty, break off another piece and continue on another section. Before you use bread on an oil painting, make sure the paint layers are firmly attached so you don’t rub off any paint."
4: "Brush away any excess bread crumbs."
5: "Hang or re-hang your painting. Take a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of having successfully restored your artwork."

See a step-by-step video of a painting being cleaned with bread at Howcast.

Have any pros out there heard of this method? Can you attest to its effectiveness or lack thereof?

Image: still via Howcast's How To Clean a Painting video

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