Book excerpt: This book contributes significantly to the selection of appropriate and controllable cleaning methods for varnished and unvarnished paint surfaces. It is a distillation of many years' experience of formulating a cleaning treatment for any given object. The general principles of the chemistry and the practical applications are described. The methods are applicable to the surface cleaning of both traditional and modern paint media found on sculptures, ethnographic materials, paintings, gilded surfaces and furniture. Aqueous methods are certainly worth considering for those surfaces which cannot be cleaned safely by methods based on solvents.