Does this painting have yellowed or darkened varnish and how do I remove

This painting has a kind of a dirty look to it I gave it a bit of a clean with some very light soapy water so I don't think it's surface dirt unless it's very ingrained dirt.
I'm wondering if it has an old varnish on it that is yellowed or darkened if so I would like to try and remove it.

How do I do that? Carefully with just a q-tip with white spirits or turpentine?

 

It may very well have yellowed varnish, but removing it is work for a professional and requires solvents that could damage the painting. Since this has been behind glass, there's maybe not a lot of surface grime, which turps might remove, but be very careful even trying that. Damage once done can't be undone.

If the varnish has yellowed, cleaning the surface might brighten it a bit, but it won't remove the yellow. It shouldn't remove the varnish.

I don't think cleaning will make much difference to the value. The potential for damage is there, and it could lead to a later restoration headache.

 

I didn't really want to add value I just wanted to lighten it up so it looks nicer on the wall.
I have seen a few videos of people removing varnish and it looks really easy that's why I thought I would enquire

 

The mechanics of varnish removal might look easy, but can you identify/analyze the type of varnish it is in order to select the most effective solvent (or combination of solvents)? Can you identify the type of paint - vehicle and pigments - to be sure the solvent will not adversely affect them? Can you control the interaction of any cleaning solution and the ground (underlayers) and support (the board the picture is painted on)? If there are any cracks in the layers, a cleaning solution may reach and weaken or swell the ground and support.

These are just some of the considerations when deciding on a treatment plan. There is a reason conservators spend several years in graduate school and apprenticeships.

 

I wouldn't mess with it either. The painting isn't crazy-valuable, 19th century "genre" pictures of old guys just aren't, but if it's a family piece I"d leave it alone.

 

I's not really about the value or resale it's just about the aesthetics of it on my wall.

 

I tried in the corner of it with mineral turpentine and then I tried in the corner with white spirit and I couldn't get anything to budge at all. No change to the surface even with fairly hard rubbing in a very small area.
I think there may even be a newer varnish over the old varnish, I noticed that there is fluff caught in varnish like little hairs like off a jersey or something.

So yeah I'll leave it. If it was like all those videos where you get like the brown varnish just kind of melting off I would have continued and rolled the dice

 

I have been looking into conservation/restoration of oil paintings and varnish removal is just not a thing you should DIY. Besides the identifying of the varnish and paint compositions (sometimes requiring chemical analysis) the solutions used to do removal continue to be activated after varnish removal and must be neutralized. It must be removed in tiny like color sections with a mountain of fresh cotton. And it is done under magnification to make certain nothing is disturbed. A solution that works for one section may be a terrible thing on another pigment. It's not as easy as YouTube makes it look.

I've read multiple book warnings that water should never be used in cleaning because it may wick into the ground material and cause paint to flake off later. Hopefully the varnish protected yours. Conservation books advise rubbing should never be done as it damages paint. They state a very light touch only, letting solutions do the work.