The possibility of applying poulticing was studied for removing Paraloid B72, a resin used for fixing an earthen mural painting. Five types of poultices were selected from clay and gel types, and acetone, ethanol, and methyl ethyl ketone(MEK) were used as mixed solvents. The possibility of mixing between the poultice and solvent was investigated, and then the spreadability, fluidity, acidity, drying properties, and solubility of the poultices were examined to confirm the characteristics. A poultice agent, which is suitable for applying to a mural painting, was selected and applied to a painting layer sample coated with Paraloid B72. As a result, all painting layers were good condition at under 50% of the solvent. The removal efficiency of Paraloid B72 was more effective when most of the solvents were used at 50%, rather than at 25%. However, it is difficult to mix 50% of MEK and ethanol with the gel-type poultices. When used at 25%, the removal performance was poorer than that at 50%, but the mixing with all the poultices was successful. In addition, the adsorption and removal power of the gel-type poultice were better than those of the clay-type, but the latter was expected to be more suitable in short-time cases due to its high drying speed. The results of this study show that the dissolution performance varies depending on the poultices and solvents. Hence, the poultice and solvent should be selectively applied, considering the fixative of the mural to be removed.

Investigation of conservation status, optical survey, infrared thermography, and ultrasonic examination were performed on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva mural and Buddhist Monk Bodhidharma mural to determine the conservation status and physical properties. As a result of investigation of conservation status, the types of damage are largely divided into the wall and finishing layer damage, painting layer degradation, damage due to restoration materials, stains and contamination, and biological damage. As a result of the optical survey, drawing, stains, and repainted site were confirmed. Result of the infrared thermography, the delamination of the finishing layer was confirmed, and some locations and shapes of the wooden lath inside the wall were identified. The result of the 3D scanning, the deviation, and the separation of the wall was confirmed. As a result of ultrasonic examination, it was confirmed that the physical properties of the mural were identified and the ultrasonic speed was relatively low due to physical damage such as delamination and exfoliation of the finishing layer and cracking. Ultrasonic speed values were also high in some wall cracks or delamination, and it was confirmed by the infrared thermography results that the wooden lath inside the wall was located in those parts. It was possible to understand that the wooden lath inside the walls affects the ultrasonic speed during the ultrasonic examination. Therefore, management through periodic inspection of the relevant elements is necessary, and a countermeasure for damage that may occur in the future should be prepared along with intensive monitoring of the major damage identified in this diagnosis result.

This study identifies the structure and material characteristics of the mural paintings in Daeungjeon at Ssanggyesa temple in Jindo by conducting scientific research and analysis including microscope examination, SEM-EDS, XRD, particle size analysis, and others. According to the analyses, the murals were considered to be of a typical soil mural style for Korean Buddhist murals, given that the walls were made of sand and soil and the murals had layers consisting of wall layers and a finishing layer. However, some finishing layer used calcite, while some ground layer used zinc white beneath the thick paint. In addition, there were similar features to those found on the surfaces of oil paintings such as cracks along with the paint layer, high gloss on surfaces, and thick brush strokes in many areas. It was found that the walls on which the murals were painted were made of soil but that the paint layer was created based on the oil painting technique using drying oil. It determined that the murals were painted in a unique painting style that is rarely found in other typical Buddhist murals in Korea.

The application of reinforcing agents with hydraulic property and strength development characteristics was studied under conditions similar to those of mural-painting mortar made with oyster shell powder. Reinforcement mortar made with oyster shell powder showed hydraulic properties and strength to supplement the weaknesses of natural hydraulic lime(NHL); this confirmed its possibility as a wall-reinforcing material with enough strength for preserving mural paintings. Reinforcement mortar 1 showed hydraulic property and general characteristics of lime mortar, such as consistency and viscosity, as well as lower strength and higher whiteness compared to an NHL product. For Reinforcement mortar 2, the original wall sample characteristics were reflected by mixing more shell produced through calcination; and it showed similar strength to that of Reinforcement mortar 1 as well as high whiteness. In measuring the contraction ratio of reinforcement mortar samples, Reinforcement mortar 1 and 2 showed more stability in property change compared to the NHL Group.

This study examined the production technique of bracket murals in Daeungjeon Hall, Gaeamsa Temple by conducting a analysis of their wall structure, material characteristics, and painting layers. Wall was a single-branch structure with support layer, middle layer, finishing layer, and painting layer. The support layer, middle layer and finishing layer, were produced by mixing sand (quartz, feldspars etc.), and loess. The ratio of above medium sand to below fine sand was approximately 0.7 : 9.3 in the support layer, 4 : 6 in the middle layer and 6 : 4 in the finishing layer, which had a more percentage of above medium sand than the support layer. The analysis of the painting layer showed that natural soil pigment was used to establish a relatively ground layer of up to 50 μm, and pigments such as Lead sulfate, atacamite and mercury sulfide were painted on top of the layer. This study’s results confirmed that the bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple are within the category of the production style of murals during the Joseon period. However, the points that the middle layer was formed several times, the significant difference in particle size distribution between the wall, and the absence of chopped straw in the support layer are a feature of bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple. These properties of murals as material and structure may be viewed for correlation with the degree of damage to wall structure of mural painting and would serve as an important reference to diagnosis the conservation conditions of murals or prepare conservation treatments.