Does anyone have any experience in this area that could maybe do it for us or advise us how to do it or suggest somewhere to get it done?
Painting is 40x40cm
We had a small oil painting painted in the UK and the artist advised us to have it varnished after about 6 months.
Anyone?
If it was my painting, I would buy a spray can of varnish from the DIY supermarket. Lay out plenty of newspaper with a large area and open the door and windows. There is a danger of suffocating, DANGER OF EXPLOSION! DO NOT SMOKE, NO LIGHTED FLAMES, NO CANDLES!
Read the instructions! Maybe hold the spray at a distance of 20 cms?
Now take the painting out of the frame, and lay it on the newspaper, and carefully spray the painting. Allow it to dry several hours between the coats. It's better to spray 5 times, than to do one long spray.
Start the spraying when over the newspaper, and not spraying actually over the painting. Move the spray across the painting from side to side. Don't stop moving when spraying over the painting, keep moving until the spray is over the newspaper, then turn around or stop. After about 5 thin coats allowing each one to dry out, allow it to dry for 24 hours, and then, avoid touching the painting, handling it by the edges, put it back into the frame.
If you hold the painting in high esteem or are certain of a significant objective value, then bring it to a specialist in art conservation since they would certainly do the professional thing.
If I had made it , perhaps I would do what Sbrinz says, but you may not want to do this yourself. Be well and good luck.
Thanks guys, I think I might hold out to find someone to do it as I would not want to ruin the painting.
Smart move. I have an acrylic triptych and I tried to varnish it myself. Started with one piece and now now that one piece looks like it has a film over it,so I stopped. If you have to do it to protect it, maybe go to an art gallery that specializes in oils and ask them.....
You could use some imagination, and practise on an old Christmas card...
Which isn't the same surface as an oil painting anyway.
To the OP - there are other factors to consider as well including whether you want a matte or gloss varnish.
Do not just buy a spray from a DIY shop. That's fine for acrylic paintings where the paint is water-based and so the solvent in the spray will not damage it but you may ruin an oil painting if you do choose the wrong varnish.
Plus, a specialist will ensure that the oil painting is fully dry - and that may take more than six months.
Whether you take it to a specialist, or read-up on the web and do it yourself, will depend on both the commercial and the sentimental value of the painting.
To be truly dry and ready to have a protective covering an oil painting needs at least 2 years . Otherwise cracks could appear over time in the varnish.
It does need a special sealer, certainly not a generic over-the-counter spray can.
You could ask at a specialist art shop about sealing products - take the painting with you.
Actually, the beauty of oils lies in their depth and lustre, and don`t generally require any "varnish". Varnishes can go yellow over time.
(Cheap acrylic paints sometimes need a varnish to retain their lustre.
Good quality acrylics, like oils, also don`t need any "top-coating".)