The Dirt on Art: Chemists test laser cleanup of paintings

To keep the world’s treasury of paintings looking up to snuff, museum conservators fight the beauty-stealing tides of dirt, age, and more acute forces, such as floods and fire. Now, it seems, they might consider adding lasers to their centuries-old closet of cleaning gear.

Conservators usually freshen up paintings with the equivalent of gentle scrubbing, often with chemical solvents.