George Washington Gets Blasted By Lasers

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When we were kids we were promised flying cars, teleportation and of course, lasers. Who hasn't dreamt of blasting something with a laser while yelling "pew pew!" Well, in art conservation we get to do just that. When presented with a particularly stubborn varnish and a very delicate paint layer the answer just might be a little pew pew.
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[TreF]

Hey Julian, I'm the laser engineer who prepared this laser prior to it going to your facility. Super cool seeing it used for art restoration. Generally our customers are in Aesthetics, so I was tickled when I saw you as the customer. In fact I had watched a video of yours the night before it came to my desk. Small world

[space_hobbit]

I love the youtube algorithm putting things on my dash like... "hey, remember that art conservation guy you watched during covid? yeah he's got a laser gun now, enjoy! :D"

[levilevis]

That oilpaint adhesion is some caveman logic for sure.
"Paint stick to canvas, paint stick to board, paint stick canvas to board."

[theblackunicorn]

Ah yes, a perfectly normal title to come across my youtube feed at 11pm on a monday

[durfkludge]

I love how the problem is "the painting is too delicate for traditional solvents" and the answer is "SHOOT IT WITH LASERS." Photons are so cool, what can't they do?

[georgecastrissiades]

This is so similar to how tattoos are removed. Laser breaks down the ink particles so the body’s natural system can process them! Super cool!

[Emisanboo]

Picturing the look on Julian's accountant's face when spring rolls around and he claims "giant laser - business expense" on his taxes.

[brianmcqueen]

2:23 That sigh followed by a trip to the fridge, I swore he was going for a beer.

[ruki]

BLACK PAINT. These people never cease to amaze in ways to make your day harder.

[RobertThz]

From wikipedia: "Dutch metal is a form of brass. The alloy typically consists of 85–88% copper and the remainder being zinc. It is also known by other names such as "composition gold leaf", "Dutch gold", "Schlagmetal" and "Schlag leaf"."

[markpavlidis]

At least we saw something new today, canvas bonded with oil paints to the back, absurd😭

[DrMJJr]

Julian, I'm going to say something that other people might not agree with but I honestly have to say your work on THE FRAME was damn near better than many painting restorations you've done. MY GOD. You really brought that frame back to life!! As a university archivist, I must commend your work here as you've demonstrated some skills not typically associated with the conservation field in print materials and I'm so impressed!! Great job!

[Lastburn]

Ngl using black oil paint as adhesive would have never crossed my mind in a million years

[dark_angel_don]

Kit is getting one hell of an education working with you.

[cimmeeb]

you know you're in for a good time when you see a Baumgartner video entitled "George Washington gets blasted by lasers"

[kathyjohnson]

Nice choice of music. Loved you using the right era. Joseph Haydn and George Washington were the same age; just a month apart. Their portraits are quite similar.

[NeoStar]

I’m having a difficult time at a new job. I just realised I need to be patient and test out a number of approaches and find one that works for that issue. I need to try to appreciate my job for what it is not what it isn’t and not rush finding the solution to my problems. Thanks Julian.

[victorialawrence]

As someone who's worked with materials from the Washington family, this restoration makes me very happy. I like how you brought out his slightly misshapen jawline again. It's the little things that make history interesting. 💜

[OhGoshSelena]

hey julian! i work with lasers often for my job (i work in surgery) and wanted to give you a tip for your smoke evac:

if you cut a small “x” at the bottom of a plastic bowl-like shape and slide your smoke evac tubing thru, you can create a little makeshift “hood” that sucks up more of the plume especially if you’re using a higher setting/pulse frequency. you may need to turn the suction settings up on the smoke evac when you do this (depending on your machine). but it looks you got a set up that works for this painting and i really appreciate the concern for laser safety!

always cool to see instruments/tech that we use in surgery in other applications! thanks for the cool video

[antigonesurefire]

The way my jaw DROPPED when he said it wasn't adhesive on the back of the canvas, but black OIL paint.

I was offended on SO many levels.