Wooden frame with gilded “compo” ornament.
The brief was to clean it preserving its aged appearance, consolidate moving composition, restore lost gilding, and tone the losses.
Challenge: The frame was previously cleaned and restored and some of the gilding was replaced with mica, which should be removed.
The frame was consolidated, cleaned with tri-ammonium citrate. A silicone mould was made to replace the lost ornament. Areas of loss were cleaned and rust was removed from an exposed nail with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.
Gilding was reinstated and toned using traditional water and synthetic gilding.