When you think of soaps, you may first picture the liquid foams or solid bars that wash away dirt, grime and bacteria. However, not all soaps are cleansers. In the art conservation world, metal carboxylates, also known as “metal soaps,” are undesirable: They form in ongoing chemical reactions that can damage the integrity of the paint and the appearance of paintings over time.
Click here for original story, New details on the formation of ‘metal soaps’ in oil paint that hinder the conservation of artworks
Source: Phys.org