Painted clay figurines in the Thousands of Buddha Hall of Chongqing Temple in Zhangzi County, Shanxi Province, have been gilded to varying degrees. Coatings on the gilded surfaces had aged and turned brown, but it was feared that cleaning using existing technologies might damage the gold leaves. In order to solve the problem, samples taken from the back light positions of Sakyamuni were analyzed by cross-section microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectrometry. The results show that the original coatings had curled and peeled off, and that the remaining component was raw lacquer. Based on these results, tests were conducted to find a suitable agent for cleaning the coating; NYC solution was screened. The solution dissolved the coatings and then rice paper was used to absorb liquid on the surface of the figurine. The whole process was gentle and did not damage the gold leaves.