Diane--

Since you used the word safely, I’m going to have to give you the only possible answer, which you are likely expecting: send it to a photograph conservator.

The white paint used for retouching glossies is generally a gouache which means that it’s gum arabic based and water soluble. However, cleaning the surface of a print with aqueous solutions of any kind requires some experience to do safely and reliably, since the gelatin image layer is itself quite sensitive to water, in addition to any ink inscriptions or stamps on the back of the print that might be water sensitive. The gouache was typically applied, by brush or airbrush, to mask out or outline/highlight some portion of the photograph for publication purposes. The ferrotyped prints were themselves made primarily for publication/reproduction purposes since the glossy surface enhances the image contrast and avoids any added textures interfering with reproduction. We’ve removed plenty of white paint over the years when requested to do so by clients. Sometimes the underlying area of the photograph is better left covered up from either an aesthetic point of view or an historical point of view—the gouache is evidence of how this image was used. At the very least I would be sure to document it’s current state prior to any cleaning.

best,
Gawain


Gawain Weaver
Photograph Conservator
San Francisco Bay Area
tel 415.446.9138
http://gawainweaver.com/
http://www.twocatdigital.com/


 
Does anyone know how you safely remove paint from a photograph?
 
Details: Glossy, black and white, 8 X 10 photo. Parts of the image have been outlined in white paint (not white out). The year of the photo is undetermined.
 
Diane Hall
Collections Manager
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame 
13515 Yarmouth Dr.
Pickertington, OH
1 (800) AMA-JOIN
1 (614) 856-1900, ext. 1210

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