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.