Art Restoration Los Angeles County: Paintings, Heirlooms

Have a Question About a Painting You Love or a Family Heirloom? Art Conservation Expert Wants to Answer Your Questions.

By Scott M. Haskins, Art Conservator

If you live in Los Angeles County and you have an old painting in storage, a grandmother’s portrait in the garage, a box of photographs you haven’t looked at in years, or an antique you’re not sure what to do with — this article was written for you.

You don’t need a crisis to call an art restoration expert. You just need a question.

Scott Haskins, founder of Fine Art Conservation Laboratories (FACL), has been answering those questions since 1975. He and his team serve Los Angeles County families, collectors, dealers, auction houses, estates, and institutions regularly. He’s also the author of the internationally award-winning Save Your Stuff book series.

“I’m not an artist,” Scott is quick to point out. “I’ve never painted a painting in my life. But our profession requires us to understand why things fall apart — adhesive technologies, climate, light levels, the physics of different materials under stress. At FACL, there’s no mop and Windex, no slapdash repainting, no shortcuts.”

The stories below are real. The losses were real — and so were the rescues.

Mold Damage on the Sweetest Painting of a Little Girl with Her Cat

We enjoy meeting people at their house to consult and answer questions. This call took meto Pasadena to evaluate a rolled-up watercolor wrapped in a plastic bag. The owner was a cute 94 years old lady, her hands shaking a little as she handed it over, barely daring to hope that we could save her picture

The painting was in bad shape — the matte around the artwork was ruined and moldy, water-stained, the original paper was yellowed and fragile, parts of the image stained by the mold. Stored badly for years, someone hadn’t known any better. or thought it was important enough. It was even painted by a well-known California artist and had financial value!

Scott unrolled it gently on the examination table, careful to not upset the mold and make it airborne. So cute!! A little girl, maybe five years old with a cat in arms, too big to have a good hold on it. After a thoughtful minute…

“Who is this?” Scott asked.

She looked at him with quiet, clear eyes.

“That’s me,” she said, “90 years ago!” with a bashful smile.

What we did to save the artwork

All the moldy framing parts were tossed. The mold damage on the artwork was removed and then the areas were treated with solvents that would kill the mold if there was any residual. The paper’s acids were neutralized to stabilize them forever. Then she was rematted and reframed. What a thrill to see this heirloom resurrected and that little girl in the garden with her cat was brought back. The painting was saved. The client was beyond thrilled to know that it would be preserved and looking it’s best for generations to come. In addition, I suggested that she upload the photo to the genealogical website she uses to be stored in the memories for others to see.

If you’re a Los Angeles County family with a question about an old painting or damaged heirloom, meeting with Scott Haskins at your house is available to you too. All it takes is a phone call. (805) 564-3438.

Is My Heirloom Worth Saving? Three Kinds of Value Every Los Angeles County Family Should Know

Scott gets this question more than almost any other. His answer covers three kinds of value — and only one shows up in an appraisal.

Financial value is real. Some heirlooms and antiques are worth thousands on the market.

Historical value is equally real. For historical houses and museums researchers, for example, Los Angeles County has one of the most interesting histories going back more than 200 years. In addition, genealogy-active communities are very active — an ancestral portrait or a landscape prior to development may be the only surviving visual record of interest to lots of people you don’t even know.

Emotional value is for items that an insurance company can never replace. The portrait of the ancestor whose face looks exactly like your daughter’s. The quilt made by a woman who arrived in this country with almost nothing. The step-stool you stood on when you were tiny to bake cookies with your dear mother. Those are the things you cannot put a price tag on.

A Family Moving to Los Angeles Trusted the Wrong Person With Grandmother’s Portrait

The 40-year-old mother/wife in a family relocating from Texas to the Los Angeles area

Practically ripped in half while the owner’s  brother and the moving guy guaranteed its safety… I think they had to pay for the painting conservation work to make it look perfect.

was very concerned with the safety of her grandmother’s portrait — a large oil painting three generations had grown up looking at every day. It IS her most cherished possession (after her family, of course). Her brother, who was coordinating the move, said he took personal oversight of the portrait and would be responsible. She begged her brother to be careful. He guaranteed it would arrive safely.

When the painting arrived, there was a two-foot vertical rip straight down the center of the canvas. The face — her grandmother’s face — was torn in half.

FACL’s art restoration team repaired the tear, consolidated the paint losses, and brought the portrait back so that the damage could not even be detected. If you are curious, here’s how we did it: Here is a link to a video on how a proper rip repair is performed:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhhu0AZ_WVI

But it didn’t have to happen at all. If you’re moving, storing, or worried about a painting you haven’t looked at in years — call us before something happens. (805) 564-3438.

The Photographs and Documents in Your Home Are Probably Chemically Unstable

Old photographs are layered, fragile, and chemically unstable. The biggest threat isn’t fire or flood — it’s chemistry: acids building up in paper, various kinds of plastic being unstable, light fading image layers, moisture and temperature swings causing irreversible deterioration, all making a visible and invisible impact on their long-term preservation.

Scott’s practical fix: scan originals at high quality, reprint with a laserwriter on archival paper, store originals in proper archival sleeves. Simple. Cheap. Almost no one does it.

Old letters and documents face acid from within. Acid-free storage might eliminate acid transfer from the boxes to the papers, but the action of the acids already in the paper doesn’t even slow down. A de-acidification spray neutralizes the acids and buffers the paper. A family Bible with records going back generations deserves at minimum a nice protective book box or even a custom archival box. Losing it to preventable deterioration means losing documented family history that exists nowhere else.

A Treasured Ceramic Heirloom Full of Memories Arrived in 25 Pieces — Entirely Preventable

Ginger jar heirloom with lots of memories and stories connected.

A ceramic jar — a family heirloom carried across the ocean — arrived at FACL in 7 heartbreaking pieces. A single careless move. A box that wasn’t padded remotely properly. FACL put it back together. But as Scott says: “entirely avoidable.”

Wrap ceramics individually in tissue or cotton muslin — never newspaper (the print rubs off). Use boxes, multi-layered, with no flexibility, even in storage. For display on shelves, Museum Wax anchoring material holds collectibles and antiques securely against bumps and Los Angeles County earthquakes. It removes cleanly when needed.

Never use super glue, white glue, or tape on any heirloom that matters. An amateur repair can make professional art restoration far more difficult — or impossible.

Wedding Dresses, Military Uniforms, and Family Quilts Are Being Destroyed in Garages and Storage Units Right Now

Textile heirlooms face pests, moisture, and distortions folded in the wrong place. Dry cleaners often won’t touch fragile antique fabrics.

Scott’s technique: vacuum through a window screen with a soft-brush attachment. No moisture, no stress, no damage.

Don’t store textile heirlooms in a garage or storage unit. Silverfish, moths, and mold work quietly and permanently. Store flat or rolled, wrapped in acid-free tissue, in a clean, dry, climate-stable space.

The Most Dangerous Thing You Can Do to a Valuable Antique Is Try to Fix It Yourself

“DIYers have a compulsion that is almost pathological,” Scott says. “They will hit a priceless antique with a sander and polyurethane.”

Understand what you have before touching it. Wood-boring insects can hollow out an antique from the inside without surface evidence until the damage is severe. Fine powdery dust around antique furniture is a warning sign. Call a professional before doing anything.

 

Uncertain about preserving an heirloom, painting, antique, or collectible?

Call (805) 564-3438

www.FineArtConservationLab.com

Home preservation manual: www.SaveYourStuff.com

 

Garages, Storage Units, and Attics Are the Wrong Places to Store Your Heirlooms

The biggest threat to heirlooms isn’t disaster — it’s quiet, cumulative damage from wrong storage conditions over time… adding pests to the offenders

Target range for paintings and organic materials: 40–50% humidity, 65–75°F. The most important factor isn’t the number — it’s avoiding swings. A space that fluctuates more than 20 humidity points in 24 hours does more damage than one that’s slightly warm but stable.

Los Angeles County garages and storage units cycle through wide temperature swings with every heat event, marine layer shift, and Santa Ana wind season — almost universally poor environments. Never place cardboard directly against paper, photographs, or textiles. Cardboard is acidic. Newspaper is worse.

Your Heirloom Was Just Damaged — What You Do in the Next Few Hours Matters

Water-damaged painting: no sunlight, no heaters, no pressing flaking paint with your fingers, no household cleaners on soot. Photograph everything first. Keep it flat. Call a professional.

Broken ceramics: save every fragment in a labeled zip-lock bag. Do not glue them. Hardware store adhesives are nearly impossible to remove from porous materials cleanly.

Wet textiles: do not fold or compress. Keep flat, away from heat and light. Call quickly — mold establishes itself on wet organic materials within 24 to 48 hours.

The window for good outcomes is wider than most people expect. But it is not unlimited.

DIY Cleaning a painting

An “Experienced” Collector Destroyed a $35,000 Painting in Thirty Minutes

“A collector brought in a 19th-century Dutch interior painting worth approximately $35,000.” Scott recalls, “I walked him through exactly how delicate the varnish removal process had to be — we even looked at it under the stereobinocular microscope together. I told him the delicate process of just the cleaning would take several hours.”

“Two weeks later he came back. He had cleaned it himself at home in half an hour with the wrong solvent. The original paint was dissolved with the varnish over most of the painting’s surface. The signature was nearly completely dissolved and wiped off. A $35,000 painting reduced to a fraction of its value in thirty minutes.”

This was ego, impatience and stupidity that got in the way. Don’t let these very damaging characteristics get in your way!

If you’re thinking about cleaning, repairing, or restoring anything yourself — call us first. The call is free. (805) 564-3438.

You Are Not Wrong to Care — And One Phone Call Is All It Takes

People ask Scott: Is this heirloom worth restoring? The real question underneath is almost always: Am I wrong to care this much about this?

The answer is no.

Every culture throughout all of recorded history has found ways to honor the objects that carry memory across generations. The quilt. The portrait. The letter. The ceramic jar that crossed an ocean. These aren’t things. They’re evidence of lives lived — the living documents of your family tree.

Los Angeles County is one of the most culturally rich and genealogically diverse communities in the world. The family histories here — from every continent, every tradition, every generation of arrival — deserve to be preserved with the same care to at least preserve the items as any museum would feel the responsibility to do..

And sometimes what it comes down to is this: a 94-year-old woman from Pasadena, looking at a watercolor of herself as a little girl with her cat.That painting was saved. That moment was possible because she picked up the phone.

Nellie after she was restored (repainted) by a family artist friend… and after FACL overpaint removal and return to her original glory.

Call (805) 564-3438 Virginia Panizzon and Scott M. Haskins, Art Conservators

www.FineArtConservationLab.com

Guidance manuals for home use: SaveYourStuff.com

 Los Angeles County and surrounding areas. No obligation.

 

Frequently Asked Questions — Art Restoration Los Angeles County

Can art restoration save a moldy or water-damaged painting?

In many cases, yes — mold, tears, flaking paint, water damage. Photograph it, don’t touch unstable areas, and call FACL. (805) 564-3438.

How do I know if my heirloom is worth restoring?

If it has emotional, historical, or financial value, it’s worth a conversation. No obligation.

My photographs and genealogy documents are yellowing. Is it too late?

Usually no. Scan them, digitally restore if needed, store originals properly. Don’t attempt repairs yourself.

Can I store heirlooms in my Los Angeles County garage?

Poor choice. Temperature swings from heat events, Santa Anas, and marine layer shifts accelerate deterioration. Use interior climate-controlled spaces.

What’s the most common mistake families make?

Wrong storage environment and amateur repairs. Call a professional first. The call is free.

How do I pack a heirloom painting for a move?

Never face-down, never bubble wrap against the paint layer, never rolled. Call FACL before moving anything valuable.

My old letters are deteriorating. What do I do?

De-acidification spray neutralizes acids and buffers the paper. Full guidance at www.SaveYourStuff.com.

I think I have a valuable antique painting. What should I do?

Call before touching it. Don’t clean it, don’t repair it, don’t put it in the garage. (805) 564-3438.

Don’t roll up paintings! They are not like rugs. Even new paintings can have violent reactions

Cleaning a painting: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DSzHcEBZ40

Authentication and Hidden Signatures- IR: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxOqa-Aa9Nk

Discovering Previous Restorations- UV: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeR8_u5qSJM

Repairing holes and rips: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xhhu0AZ_WVI

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: 

http://www.youtube.com/bestartdoc?feature=mhee

Give these videos a THUMBS UP, please!

This article has been shared on at least 20 additional platforms to be more available to the media experts and the public seeking answers to questions on professional art conservation. This article shares authoritative real-world stories, examples and answers questions from our lab on “Art Restoration Los Angeles County: Paintings, Heirlooms.” These placements help ensure that reliable information is available from a well-known professional source.

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When the Oil Painting Arrives Damaged: What Shipping and Storage Problems Can Do to Artwork

There is a particular kind of heartbreak that happens when someone opens a damaged box marked “FRAGILE” that they were not expecting. Opening it carefully they find the important oil painting inside has shifted, in its frame causing scratches or rips, its cracked, or worse. The heirloom was supposed to be handled or even hand carried with the utmost care… as it traveled across the country after a parent passed away. Maybe it was pulled from a storage unit that flooded. Maybe it came back from a framer with a dent that was not there before. The husband promised it would be safe! (I can’t tell you how many marriages I’ve saved, lol)

At Fine Art Conservation Laboratories, damage from shipping and storage is a very common reason even recently new oil and acrylic paintings, but even fragile Old Masters, arrive at our lab for professional art conservation treatments. Most of it was preventable. All of it is distressing. And much of it — far more than people realize — can be significantly improved or fully resolved through careful, professional treatment. Have you thought about if your homeowner’s insurance would cover the repairs?

If you have a painting that was damaged in transit or during storage, or if you are wondering whether a framed painting in your care is at risk, you have questions. Let’s talk through what the “spin off’ problems are that may arise, what the damage looks like, and what can be done.

Questions about a damaged painting that has been in storage or recently shipped? Call and ask for Scott or Virginia — we are glad to talk through what you are seeing before you do anything else. (805) 564-3438

Why Oil Painting Damage From Shipping and Storage Is So Common

Oil paintings, especially if they are old, are more fragile than they appear… and the damage you see may get worse with time. The image you see — the color, the brushwork, the faces and landscapes — exists as a thin, aged layer of paint sitting on top of a fabric canvas that has been reacting and responding to its environment for decades, sometimes centuries. Add to that various sudden changes in storage and shipping — cold air, impact, pressure, or moisture — assume more than just the visible damage that just happened is in play.

Temperature and Humidity – Wild Fluctuations Cause Change

The entire oil painting’ s structure of canvas and layers of paint expands and contracts with changes in humidity but at different rates. When a painting moves from a climate-controlled home into an unheated moving truck in January, or sits in a storage unit through a hot summer, the canvas and paint layers don’t like that. Over time, even a short time, sometimes, this causes the paint to develop a network of cracks. As the condition ages, paint layers begin to lift from the surface — a flaking condition art conservators call cleavage — a problem that requires more than just spraying on a sealer or varnish.

We often see and receive unstable old paintings that were packed and moved without proper protection from the 150 deg. Arizona heat in the back of the moving truck like they were a poster or a replaceable non-important “decoration” resulting in paint losses, rips etc much to the horror of the family historian of the family. The husband, kids, church group who helped had no idea the painting was at risk when it was packed.

What Physical Impact and Pressure Do To Paintings

Paintings that are stacked, leaned against one another, or packed without proper cushioning frequently arrive with dents, punctures, or distortions in the canvas. A dent in an oil painting is not like a dent in a piece of furniture. The paint in a dented area may be cracked, lifted, or detached. Trying to push a dent back out without proper treatment can — and often does — cause active paint loss.

An example of a heartbreaking cases that we corrected involved the picture at the bottom of this article: a 150-year-old oil painting valued at $75,000 that arrived with catastrophic damage across most of the picture surface — entirely the result of careless packing. All of it was avoidable. The owner had no interest in investing in quality art conservation treatments… and threw it away!! It was bought as salvage for pennies on the dollar by an art dealer who knew its quality… and yes, it was a major bill to “fix it.”

Moisture, Mold, and Art Storage Conditions

Storage units are not climate controlled by default. Even those that advertise climate control often have humidity levels that fluctuate significantly with the seasons. Paintings stored in basements, garages, attics, or outdoor storage units are particularly vulnerable.

Moisture that infiltrates a canvas on artwork can cause the stretcher bars to warp, which deforms the entire canvas. It can also cause mold to develop on the canvas or the paint surface itself. Mold on a painting is not simply a surface contaminant — it can penetrate paint layers, discolor the image, and weaken the structural integrity of the work if not treated properly. And while the organism can be killed, sometimes the stain left behind cannot be removed.

The lady that gave us this cherished artwork to preserve was 94 years old and was the child in the artwork!

 

We have seen this play out firsthand. A painting left in a storage area that took on water arrived with extensive flaking and discoloration. It was not just a damaged painting — the memories and family history attached to it had been sitting in that wet room too. The treatments vary considerably depending on severity and paint media, but the approach is always the same: assess the full extent of damage before touching anything, then treat methodically from the most structurally fragile areas first.

One more thing worth knowing: homeowner’s insurance often covers family heirlooms and personal artwork — not items considered decorations — that are damaged during a move. If you are filing a claim, we can help you work with your adjuster. FACL charges flat fees for insurance claim work, not a percentage of the settlement.

What Improper Storage Actually Looks Like

Not long ago, we were called in to consult on a collection belonging to a man who considered himself an experienced, high-end collector. The storage conditions we walked into were genuinely painfully the worst I’ve even seen. Paintings were stacked against one another without protection, leaning in conditions with no humidity control, in a room that gave no thought to the value of what it held. We documented the situation on video. In one case, plastic tape had adhered directly to the front of a painting and had to be carefully removed on-site.

The situation is much more dire if your painting was painted between 1850ish and 1910ish. Additives to the canvas making machinery cause this age of canvas to be more brittle as it ages than a piece of fabric 200 years older! These oil paintings are frightfully brittle and VERY easy to rip.

See this short video. Click on the picture

The lesson is not that this person was careless in a dramatic or obvious way. The lesson is that he genuinely believed he was doing fine. Most people who store art poorly do not know they are doing it wrong… or maybe their impatience justifies in their m ind that they are doing to carelessly. That is the nature of this kind of damage — it accumulates quietly, and the consequences show up later.

An Example Of A Painting In Our Lab

A woman in her 30s contacted us about her grandmother’s portrait – her most prized possession beside the children— a nice sized oil painting that had been in her family for three generations. As her family was moving to a new house, she protested to her brother about the painting being packed loosely in a cardboard box. He guaranteed her he would hand carry it to the new house. When it arrived, there was a 2 ft vertical rip down the center of the painting, and small areas of paint that had flaked away entirely. I’ll let you imagine the war that ensued. She was devastated. This was not just a painting to her. It was the face she had grown up looking at. It was all the memories of a cherished person in the painting. Insurance couldn’t buy her a new one…

What she needed first was not a blind per sq, inch estimate that would probably change. She needed  to find the right person/lab … someone to look at the painting carefully, explain what had happened and why, and tell her honestly what was possible and what her options were.

If a painting in your care has been through shipping or long-term storage and something looks wrong — or even if you are not sure — call or text us and ask for Scott or Virginia. A quick phone call can tell you whether the painting needs urgent attention. (805) 564-3438

How to Assess Damage When a Painting Arrives

Before calling a conservator — or while you are waiting — here is how to look at a damaged painting without making things worse.

Check the surface first. Look for scratches, abrasions, or punctures. On oil paintings, look specifically for areas where paint is visibly lifting or flaking. Do not touch those areas, don’t rub them, or try to press them flat. Loose paint fragments may be out into a zip lock bag, they may be able to be put back!

Check the structure next. Look at the canvas itself for tears, punctures, or warping. Check whether the stretcher bars are still square and intact. Avoid moving the painting more than necessary, and keep it flat if the damage is cause by water and flaking is active.

Especially if its wet, do not expose the painting to direct sunlight or heaters and do not attempt any cleaning.

Document everything with photographs before moving the painting further. This protects you in any insurance situation and gives a conservator a clearer picture of the condition at the time of discovery. This step-by-step guide to assessing art shipping damage walks through the process in more detail.

Don’t roll up paintings!

 

The Most Common Treatments for Shipping and Storage Damage

Professional art conservation for shipping and storage damage typically involves some combination of the following, depending on the nature and severity of the damage:

Consolidation of cleavage and flaking paint. When paint layers have lifted or are actively separating from the canvas, consolidation is the first and most urgent step. This involves introducing a conservation-grade adhesive beneath the lifted paint and applying gentle pressure — sometimes with heat — to re-bond the layers. This must happen before any other treatment, because moving a painting with active flaking will cause additional loss.

Canvas repair and structural work. Tears, punctures, and dents in the canvas require structural repair before surface treatments can be completed. Depending on the extent of the damage, this may involve local patch repairs, full lining of the canvas to a new support fabric, or working a distortion out from the reverse side using moisture and controlled pressure. A damaged or warped stretcher may need to be repaired or replaced entirely.

Cleaning. Storage conditions often mean a painting arrives with accumulated grime, mold residue, or discolored varnish. Cleaning is done selectively and with considerable care, using solvents and methods appropriate to the age and condition of the specific paint layers. There is no universal formula — every painting requires its own evaluation.

Filling and inpainting. Areas of paint loss are filled with a stable, reversible fill material shaped to the profile of the surrounding original paint. They are then carefully inpainted with conservation-grade materials that match the color, texture, and reflectance of the original. The goal is not to make the painting look as if nothing happened, but to make the damage visually recede so that the full composition reads as it was intended.

Varnishing. A final protective varnish can stabilize the surface, even out the sheen, and provide a layer of protection for future handling and display.

What You Can Do Right Now to Protect a Painting

If a painting is currently in storage, or if you are anticipating shipping one, the most important things to understand are these:

Glassine paper sticks to many types of varnishes and many new acrylic paints (I know you are surprised and you are not sure I’m right… but you’ve been told.)

Never wrap a painting face-down against another surface, never wrap it in material that traps moisture, or rest it on the floor without a barrier.

Never roll an oil or acrylic painting, especially an old one. Professional can coach you on your options… but rolling a painted canvas that has not been prepared for that process will do more than just crack the paint.

For shipping, a painting should NOT be wrapped in glassine against the paint layers or frame surface — and especially do not wrap artwork with bubble wrap directly against the painted surface —

If a painting arrives damaged, do not try to push the canvas back from the front, remove any loose paint, or clean the surface yourself. Call a professional first. Handling a painting with active damage incorrectly can turn a treatable problem into a much more serious one… and wipe out any financial value it might still have.

Preserving Family History And All The Stories – Memory Triggers

What professional art conservation protects is not just paint and canvas. It is the grandmother who sat for her portrait in 1900, the ancestor whose face is the only surviving record of what they looked like. The painting that hung in the same spot in the family home for fifty years, traveled through four moves, survived a flood, two world wars and arrived cracked and tired on someone’s doorstep.

Those stories do not end when a painting is damaged. They continue — sometimes for generations more — when the painting is treated with care, honesty, and real expertise.

If you have a painting that was damaged in shipping or storage — or if you want to protect one before it travels — we would like to hear from you.

Call (805) 564-3438

and ask for Scott Haskins or Virginia Panizzon.

We answer questions, give honest assessments, and treat every heirloom as if it were our own.

Gena.FACLBusinessManager@gmail.com

Water damaged ancestor when in storage (canvas shrunk causing the paint to flake off)

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Why for the 1st time I Threw Someone Out of My Art Restoration Lab – DIY Oil Painting Cleaning Destroyed a $35,000 Artwork

A Real Art Restoration Drama In Our Lab  “If this story doesn’t shock you, then nothing will…. or at least you’ll shake your head and say, ‘What an unbelievable idiot and raise an eyebrow —

Fairly often we have special interest groups that have a “field trip“ to our Lab. We roll out the red carpet and enjoy showing them all the different kinds of projects we work on, how we use a black light (UV) how we use the stereo binocular microscope and we set up different displays to make the visit as educational as possible.

NY Times Tour at Fine Art Conservation Lab.com

What Happened When a Collector Brought His Vintage Painting of a Dutch Interior to the Lab

We also encourage the visitors to bring in artwork that they may have questions about that we can discuss with the group. We always get five stars reviews, and no one has ever been bored!

During one such visit, a man who collects old master paintings, brought in a small interior Dutch scene that was very nicely done. The first questions that usually come up in the question and answer moments are:

FAQ’s Common Questions We Hear During Lab Visits

How much is my painting worth?

How much does it cost to clean a painting?

How do you know if it’s worth restoring?

Can I clean my painting at home?

Dutch Old Master that begs for cleaning – not the painting related to this story

It’s unethical according to our professional ethics and standards for an art conservator to give an opinion about value. Even though the game of estimating appraisal values by uncertified art dealers and “restorers” is common, especially in Europe, there are many ways this practice is used to the disadvantage or manipulation of the client to sell the painting or to get the owner’s decision to have restoration work done.

Instead of offering my appraisal of the value, I can offer an opinion as to the comparative quality of the artwork based on artwork we’ve had come through the lab over the last 40 years and sometimes I give an opinion of the approximate value based on other paintings I’ve heard about from auction houses and dealers we work with, with a disclaimer.

After giving my disclaimer to the group in this story, I suggested that this very nice painting of an interior Dutch scene could be valued in the $35,000 range based on comparative quality and size we’ve seen. The owner didn’t seem surprised and then he asked if I could estimate what the cleaning cost would be.

Under magnification, conservators test solvents and adhesives for cleaning tests

The Microscope Demo: Showing How Careful Varnish Removal Must Be

This was a good opportunity to show the attendees of the lab tour how we use the stereo binocular microscope to do tests for varnish removal without dissolving the original paint. This was an excellent example because, as I pointed out to the group, the original painting technique of this 19th century interior used varnish mixed in with the paint in order to get the beautiful transparency and find detail. I explained that the process of removing the yellowed varnish would have to be very careful done, making sure that any solvents used would not move or dissolve the original paint. FACL NEVER damages artwork while working on it.

I indicated to the group that the solvents I was using on the varnish removal test under the microscope we’re not necessarily the technique and solvent, I would use in the actual cleaning, which would probably take several hours to do.

The owner was very appreciative of the information and insights as I gave his painting back to him. He wrapped it back up, tucked it under his arm and left with it when the tour was over.

Two Weeks Later: When He Returned with the “Cleaned” Painting

About two weeks later, I got a phone call from the same owner that he would like to come and see me. As I was unwrapping the painting, he said that he had cleaned the painting and that he did it in about a half hour. My stomach immediate knotted up.

I was shocked to see that the entire painting had been badly damaged by dissolving the original paint, losing many many details and reducing what was a painting in perfect condition to a thoroughly “skinned“ damaged painting in every area of the painting, including the signature, which has been badly abraided by this Due-it-Yourselfer.

DIY Cleaning a painting

How A Prideful Attitude and the Wrong Solvent Destroyed a $35,000 Painting

I looked at the owner, incredulous and I said, Wow, you’ve ruined this painting!

He retorted. I did what you told me to!“

Trying to restrain my response, “I never told you how to clean this painting or even gave you suggestions!“

He justified himself, “Well, I saw the solvent you were using in the testing under the microscope and figured I’d try that.“

I accused him, “You wiped this with a rag and a solvent that was way too powerful, dissolved the paint and in the process you’ve wiped off details everywhere and removed the signature 80%.! You’ve taken a $35,000 picture and reduced it to trash!“

To that, the owner got angry, raising his voice telling me it was my fault the painting was damagedbecause I had told him the wrong things to use… and now I had to “fix it.”

My blood began to boil and I got fired up inside with his exceeding stupidity. I was not calm… on the inside but I was still contained on the outside. “Repainting this once beautiful painting does not restore the original quality and does not restore the artwork’s lost value! You have destroyed this painting, permanently.”

I told him to get out of the lab! I stepped towards him and he took a step back towards my front door. I told him that he was never to come back, never to call, and I was never to hear of him again!

There was a 16th century art historian named Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574 who wrote Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, the foundational text of Renaissance art history) that had the opinion that incompetent restoration had destroyed more art than all the volcanoes, floods, earthquakes and wars put together. This plaque of destruction of artistic and cultural items by Do-It-Yourselfer-Fix-er-Uppers obviously is not a modern-day problem.

His declaration sounds to me, that Giorgio may have been also (besides me) on a rant when he wrote that and I can’t imagine that he had a way to prove his statistic. But we often see, in our lab, the sad state of affairs with artwork that is loved and cherished that has been brutalized and reduced to a damaged whisper of something beautiful that used to sing soprano. One of the greatest offenders of this kind of tragedy occurs on family, history, items and ancestor portraits that are worked on or restored as an artist-friend of the family who is going to save them some money.

Bombed Artwork WWII

Why This Painting Survived Wars and Voyages — But Not DIY Cleaning

This painting had survived coups and revolutions. It survived the Nazi’s bombs, fires and thieves of World War I and World War II. It survived lousy packing and handling; transport across Europe, who knows how many times; its traveled in the back and hidden in hay wagons, bounced around in who knows what weather; it survived unscathed the voyage in the hull of a ship across the Atlantic. It had endured all of this, and more without damage, for more than 150 years. And yet it could not survive in the hands of a prideful, full of himself, do-it-yourselfer, who destroyed it in less than thirty minutes.

The Sad Pattern We See with Family Heirlooms and Artist Restorations

We see it happen often, if not constantly, to family portraits, heirloom ancestors who were “restored” by a friend who “knows how to paint.” Their creativity gets out of control, then they overpaint and lose the soul. Families hate the result in about 90% of the time, and then they bring it to FACL to try and undo the damage. Do you have questions about this process? Give us a call to discuss your questions.

Nellie after she was repainted by a family artist friend… and after FACL overpaint removal and return to her original glory.

Lessons from Famous DIY Disasters Like “Behold the Monkey Jesus!!”

And honestly? It’s not just young amateur DIY’s… Remember the “Beast Jesus” or “Behold the Monkey” fiasco? That 2012 Spanish fresco—Ecce Homo—where an elderly parishioner “restored” it herself? Her final result turned a solemn 150 year old devotional image of Christ into a monkey-faced cartoon. The outcry in the news went internationally viral overnight, but the original art? Gone. Or the guy in Italy who “cleaned” a 15th-century Madonna with acetone—wiped off half the face. These aren’t jokes; they’re losses which cannot be undone… even if there is an exceptional quality super talented artist who can copy exactly someone else’s style and technique… that still doesn’t undo the damage done… it still isn’t the original artwork anymore. And that has negative results.

Varnish yellows, dirt builds, cracks appear. But DIY? One wrong solvent, one too-hard scrub, and you’re not cleaning—you’re destroying. Professional work isn’t magic; it’s patience, testing, layers of protection. We map every stroke first, use micro-tools, work in controlled light. If something’s off, we stop. That’s why people trust us.

Virginia Panizzon Cleaning a Painting

If You Have Questions About Your Own Painting

The takeaway? If your piece looks dull, yellowed, or cracked—if you’re even thinking “maybe I could try”—don’t. Call someone who does this daily. Not because of marketing hype, but because we’ve seen what happens when DIY folks “wing it.”

If you have questions about art preservation, restoration, conservation, give us a call to chat. Here’s my mobile phone: 805-570-4140.

A word of warning: friends, who are artists, NEVER do a good job on restoring paintings and most often destroy the original. So there you have it! A true confession about throwing someone out of our painting conservation laboratory. My blood still boils to think that he told me it was my fault!!!!

Scott M. Haskins and Virginia Panizzon

Art Conservators

805 564 3438

gena.FACLBusinessManager@gmail.com

Article syndication

This article was also syndicated (as many of our other articles have been) on ExpertClick (a platform for  media expert), where it appears as a press release. It shares a cautionary real-world story from our lab about the risks of DIY oil painting restoration. We’re pleased that this story has been picked up and syndicated via ExpertClick, reinforcing the importance of professional art conservation and confirm its authoritative nature.

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Zzoomm Broadband Review 2026 – Full Fibre Speeds, Packages & Prices

Zzoomm Broadband launched in 2019 as an alternative network provider (altnet) with its own independent full fibre infrastructure. Starting in Henley on Thames, Zzoomm has expanded rapidly to bring ultra fast broadband to dozens of towns and villages across the UK, including Cannock, Ripon, Bolton Upon Dearne, Northwich and many more.

 

Although coverage is still limited compared to the larger national providers, Zzoomm’s network is growing quickly. If you’re lucky enough to live in a Zzoomm enabled area, you can enjoy symmetrical full fibre speeds up to 2,300 Mbps (2.3 Gbps) for both downloads and uploads. This makes it one of the fastest broadband options available in the UK.

 

Better still, Zzoomm combines these lightning fast speeds with affordable prices, giving homes and businesses access to reliable gigabit internet without the premium cost.

 

If you’re searching for broadband in Cannock, full fibre in Ripon, or gigabit internet in Henley on Thames, Zzoomm is a provider worth considering. Let’s take a closer look at what Zzoomm Broadband has to offer and why it’s becoming one of the most popular choices for next generation connectivity.

 

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Zzoomm Broadband?

Like many modern altnets (alternative network providers), Zzoomm Broadband offers symmetrical full fibre speeds – meaning your upload speed is just as fast as your download speed. This makes it perfect for remote working, video calls, online gaming and content creation.

 

Installation is free, pricing is highly competitive, and at the time of writing you can get a 1Gbps connection for just £30 per month. For those who want the absolute fastest internet available, Zzoomm also offers an incredible 2.3Gbps package, one of the fastest residential broadband speeds in the UK. While most households won’t need that much bandwidth, it guarantees ultra-fast downloads and a completely future-proof connection.

 

Zzoomm also stands out by guaranteeing no mid-contract price rises, so your monthly cost stays the same throughout your agreement. Contracts are refreshingly short at just 12 months, unlike many national providers who now lock customers into 24-month deals. For anyone looking for flexibility, value and ultra-fast speeds, this approach makes Zzoomm one of the most attractive full fibre broadband options in the UK.

 

What Speeds Can You Get With Zzoomm Broadband?

200Mbps Full Fibre

Zzoomm’s 200Mbps package is the perfect entry-level broadband plan. While it’s called “entry level,” 200Mbps is far from basic. This speed is more than enough for most households, giving you smooth online gaming, effortless video calls, and 4K streaming on multiple TVs at once. Unless you need extremely fast downloads, this package is all the speed most families will ever need.

 

500Mbps Full Fibre

At 500Mbps, you’ll experience ultra-fast broadband that can handle anything you throw at it. From large downloads to seamless streaming across several devices, this speed ensures every activity feels instant. While there are faster packages available, for most homes 500Mbps is more than enough to future-proof your internet.

 

1000Mbps (1Gbps) Full Fibre

The iconic gigabit broadband package. With 1Gbps symmetrical speeds, you can download huge files, upload large projects, and enjoy lag-free gaming with ease. This package is perfect for households or small businesses with heavy internet usage, especially where multiple people are downloading or streaming at the same time.

 

2300Mbps (2.3Gbps) Full Fibre

Zzoomm’s fastest and most powerful package. With a massive 2.3Gbps connection, you can download a modern 50GB game in just over three minutes on PC. While most devices won’t even support this speed fully (for example, consoles like PlayStation and Xbox are limited to 1Gbps ports), it’s ideal for anyone who wants the absolute fastest connection available and complete peace of mind that their broadband will never hold them back.

 

What Type Of Internet Connection Is Zzoomm?

Zzoomm’s full fibre broadband works seamlessly with the latest Wi-Fi technology to deliver faster, more reliable connections throughout your home. Most routers today support Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), which operates mainly on the 5 GHz band and provides high speeds up to 3.5 Gbps. It’s great for streaming, gaming, and everyday browsing, but it can slow down if lots of devices are connected at the same time.

With Zzoomm, you can take advantage of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), the next generation of wireless technology. Wi-Fi 6 not only boosts speeds up to 9.6 Gbps but also handles many devices at once more efficiently, making it ideal for smart homes. It improves performance in busy households, extends battery life on devices, and ensures your Zzoomm full fibre connection is used to its fullest potential.

 

What Network Does Zzoomm Broadband Use?

Zzoomm broadband does not run on another major provider’s infrastructure such as Openreach or Virgin Media. Instead, it operates on its own full-fibre network that the company builds, owns, and maintains. This makes Zzoomm an “alternative network provider” (often called an altnet) in the UK broadband market.

 

The service uses FTTP (Fibre-to-the-Premises) technology. This means a fibre-optic cable runs directly from the local network point to your home, rather than relying on older copper phone lines for the final connection. Because the entire connection is fibre, it can deliver very fast and stable internet speeds.

 

Zzoomm’s network is designed using modern fibre technology capable of multi-gigabit speeds, with packages typically offering high download speeds and often symmetrical upload speeds as well. In practical terms, if you get Zzoomm installed, they normally run a new fibre line directly into your property, separate from the traditional Openreach network used by providers like BT, Sky, or TalkTalk.

 

In short, Zzoomm broadband uses its own dedicated full-fibre infrastructure, rather than leasing or using another company’s network.

 

Final Thoughts

There’s a lot to like about Zzoomm Broadband. From its competitive pricing to its excellent customer service and innovative two-router mesh Wi-Fi solution, Zzoomm is designed to deliver great value and reliability. Features such as no mid-contract price hikes and refreshingly short 12-month contracts make it stand out from many national providers who often lock customers into longer, more expensive deals.

 

While Zzoomm’s website has historically made it tricky to find technical details such as router information or detailed coverage maps, the platform has improved significantly. Checking availability in your area and signing up is now quick and straightforward.

 

Like most alternative network providers (altnets), Zzoomm does not offer a traditional landline service. This is in line with wider industry trends as landlines continue to phase out in favour of full fibre broadband only packages.

 

One of the most eye-catching features is Zzoomm’s 2.3Gbps Full Fibre package. Realistically, very few households will ever need this speed, since most applications won’t make full use of it. Consoles, for example, are limited by 1Gbps Ethernet ports and external servers. However, for PC gamers, content creators and tech enthusiasts, having access to one of the fastest broadband connections in the UK provides both performance and future-proofing — as well as serious bragging rights.

 

Overall, Zzoomm has grown into one of the UK’s most exciting full fibre broadband providers. With ultra-fast speeds, fair pricing, flexible contracts and improved usability, we strongly recommend Zzoomm Broadband if it’s available at your address.

If you're looking for ultra-fast full fibre internet, Zzoomm Broadband is becoming a popular choice across the UK. Known for its symmetrical speeds and reliable full fibre network, Zzoomm offers packages designed for streaming, gaming and working from home. However, finding the best Zzoomm broadband deals requires a little research to make sure you're getting the right speed and price for your needs.

 

The easiest way to compare packages is by using a trusted comparison guide such as https://mybroadbanddeals.co.uk/zzoomm-broadband-review/ This page breaks down the latest Zzoomm packages, speeds, pricing and coverage, helping you quickly identify which option suits your household.

 

When searching for the best deal, start by checking availability in your area. Zzoomm operates its own full fibre network and is currently rolling out services to selected towns and cities across the UK. If your address is covered, you can then compare different speed tiers such as 150Mbps, 500Mbps or even faster gigabit connections.

 

Next, look at introductory offers and promotions. Broadband providers often run limited-time discounts, free installation or reduced monthly pricing. Comparison sites regularly update these offers, which means you can secure a cheaper deal than going directly to the provider.

 

It’s also important to consider contract length and total cost. Some deals look cheaper monthly but may require longer commitments. Always check the full contract price before signing up.

 

By comparing packages, checking availability and reviewing current offers through trusted guides like the Zzoomm broadband review page, you can confidently find the best Zzoomm broadband deal for fast, reliable fibre internet.

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