Sarah,

As a conservator I can tell you that it is often best that nothing is
done rather than a "restorative" cleaning and treatment that will
often present much more serious issues for the work of art or the
object in future years.

I looked up "Salamander Oil" on CAMEO at the MFA Boston site and found
this entry:

http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/record.asp?key=2170&subkey=8161&Search=Search&MaterialName=Salamander+Oil&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

The description says that Salamander oil contains 60% turpentine and
natural resins and oils.

Oiling antiques, historic objects, and art works may indeed make them
look better initially, because the oil saturates the surface and makes
it "look" new. Many people often use oils to "feed" old wood. Well,
organic oils over time, chemically cross link and polarmerize and form
films that darken and can go black and glossy that can be very
difficult to remove (I am in the middle of one such problem treatment
right now from years of the use of linseed oil).

Often restorers use these sort of materials because they get quick
results and they can apply them universally without taking the actual
condition of the piece into consideration. A conservator bases
treatment on a careful examination and evaluation of the materials
involved.

I always tell people that if the art or object is something you do not
care about, that has a life span of a decade or two, and what you want
is a cheap fix and that the object is seen as disposable, then go
ahead with the cheap remedy. If the object or art is important to you,
has an intrinsic family, heirloom, historic, or artistic value and you
want to preserve it, then leave it alone until a competant specialist
can examine it and offer advice on its cleaning and care.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator, Los, Angeles, California


On 8/12/07, Sarah Wood-Clark <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I have what may be a dumb question, but here goes...a friend has a
> couple of nice aging oil paintings (early-mid this century) that need
> some attention (cleaning and inpainting), she lives in a rural area
> and does not have access geographically or budget-wise to painting
> conservators and has turned them over to someone who has promised to
> go over them with Salamander Oil and varnish them. I don't know what
> varnish, and I seem to remember earlier in my career equating
> salamander oil with snake oil or worse.  What does this stuff
> actually do?  Will it harm the painting?
>
> Oh, thank you in advance.
>
> Sarah
>
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