The stains seen on this engraving are from mold that grew on the paper after it got went during Hurricane Katrina. Although the mold is dry and dead the stains from infestation are very disfiguring and will darken with time. The darker the mold stains that develop are the harder they are to remove.
Four different kinds of mold are visible in colors of black, red, yellow and brown. Blotchy acid stains probably transferred from poor framing and mounting materials. Numerous distortions and ripples are present as well. All of these conditions can be improved and removed; in fact we expect it to look different when we are done. We expect the cost to be $400.00 for just the conservation treatments. Framing will be extra.
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I know all too well the damage that is caused by mold. In our last home, which was “quaint” but over 100 years old, our bathroom, windowsills, and door frames had a terrible mold problem. No amount of scrubbing with bleach or peroxide really helped. It is one of the many reasons we chose to move. My allergies were terrible all the time!
Shortly after moving into our new home, our dishwasher flooded the kitchen and half the living room! Mold rapidly grew everwhere and the entire pergo kitchen floor and most of the old hardwood under the living room carpet had to be ripped out. Bleh!
The potential for mold is often ignored because you don’t see it right away when there is water damage. It shows up later after nothings been done to keep it from growing! We got in trouble recently and it was totally avoidable, if we had taken action. Listen to Scott! He knows what he is talking about. Given the valuable things we have, we need to focus on care and being prepared from time to time.
Nice to be here and see your post!
Because it was after Katrina, I would have to say that it is mold and that it is possible to restore the paint but i dont think it will be more than $300. I have a friend that restored over 20 Paintings (he is a huge collector) and it came out to be around $275 for each one. Now he probably got a discount because of the quantity that he wanted restored but I am sure that their are restorers that can work with your budget. Good luck!
Think about it for a minute Eric: you have 20 paintings that are worth $500 each. So, obviously you will look for a cheaper option. In this case, look for a specialized art conservation professional who will work with you. In another scenario, imagine 20 paintings work an average of $10,000 ea. Do you really want to find the cheapest guy in town who works with a hose and some windex? I know you work for a mold removal company. Stick to working on general contents of an office or home and find specialists who will know how to handle sensitive or valuable items more carefully. You can still work with them on a margin and make money.
It’s just incredibly unfortunate when something like this happens to a piece of art work ever. We work with water damage items and always take damaged artwork to experts like Scott.
Thanks Ben. We’ve worked with Belfor many times over the years.
Good article. Thanks for the 101 on mold damage.
A very wet spring led to some standing water issues in my basement and lower stairwell area where I had been keeping some paintings passed down through the family.
Unfortunately, some of the paintings have an abundance of mold and mildew growth on the canvas’ and framework. Initially, I did not believe that a few of the paintings could be salvaged and were beyond restoring. After getting a few good tips here, I believe that my paintings can be salvaged and mostly restored pretty close to their original form. Good Read and great info here –
Nice information given by this post…
Wow, never knew you could actually preserve such damaged paintings after mold and water damage. Some great resources and tips in this article.
Thanks a lot,
Mark from Blackmoldcontrol.com
Hello Frndz…..
Your blog has always been a good source for me to get quality tips on blogging. Thanks once again.
by GTA Restoration | Water Damage Restoration.
http://gtarestoration.com/