Methods and Products for the Conservation of Vandalized Urban Art Murals

Abstract

The possibility of contemporary mural paintings to be “tagged” by vandals, with spray and/or markers, represents a serious problem for the conservation of urban art. The present study aims to define the applicability of a protective coating on murals’ surface to preserve them against vandalism. The research has been focused on anti-graffiti products currently used in the field of cultural heritage conservation. These products represent an optimum start point to preserve mural artwork from vandal actions. The commercially available anti-graffiti products have been compared with an innovative product, PRO-ART, specifically formulated by YOCOCU in collaboration with Pelicoat, for the conservation of murals. At the same time, it has tested the cleaning of contemporary murals by using different mixtures of solvents and surfactants. The experimentations have been carried out on external walls, followed by the conducting of in situ tests (application tests, empirical evaluations and colorimetric analysis), as well as laboratory investigations (contact angle and optical/electronic microscopy).

Preliminary approach to protect Street Art from environmental agents and gaseous pollutants

“…In the anti-graffiti permanent class, the most extensively polymeric material used is fluorinated or partially fluorinated acrylic, such as PRO-ART, a rather new commercial product developed by YOCOCU APS (YOuth in COnservation of CUltural Heritage APS, Italy) and Pelicoat Spa [21]. Being a new-generation innovative product able to give interesting photochemical stability, water/oil repellency, it remains important to evaluate the chemical behaviour of this polymer in order to extend its stability and applicability on more complex artistic materials.…”

Assessing the (In)Stability of Urban Art Paints: From Real Case Studies to Laboratory Investigations of Degradation Processes and Preservation Possibilities

“…Attention has been drawn on natural ageing and real cases as well, but the majority of these projects are interested in the protection of this recent form of urban art against graffiti: indeed, urban art artworks are often subjected to undesired overpainting realised with similar materials and thus, are difficult to be removed without impairing the artwork as well [15]. For such a reason, studies have been addressed in two directions: the evaluation of chemical and mechanical removal of graffiti from street artworks surfaces and the evaluation of anti-graffiti coatings [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Nevertheless, the research assessed the instability toward UV-light and outdoor conditions of spray paints, and therefore, the proposal of anti-UV coatings to be applied on top of paint layers to ensure that they last longer, in an urbanadornment-maintaining perspective, should be deepened as well.…”

Protection of Urban Art Painting: A Laboratory Study

“…The range of materials adopted in contemporary art is expanding, and the main chemical classes include alkyds, acrylics, styrene resins, and combinations thereof [ 11 ]. The literature reports several research projects aimed to identify appropriate anti-graffiti products used for the protection of cultural heritage [ 12 ], while fewer works are available on the use of anti-graffiti on contemporary murals [ 3 , 13 ].…”

“…In recent years, street artists have begun to use quartz paints, which are based on acrylic or siloxane polymers, and loaded with silica based particles, which provide a greater resistance to atmospheric agents, abrasion, and dirt. Moreover, such paints are more porous, and then their behavior in terms of wettability is quite different with respect to paints without inorganic fillers [ 13 ]. In this study, the performance of anti-graffiti coatings on a quartz paint was assessed.…”

“…Based on our previous research [ 3 , 13 ], two anti-graffiti products were chosen: PRO-ART, and AG09W. The first one is based on a fluorinated acrylic polymer, while AG09W is a mix of microcrystalline wax and of fluorinated polymers.…”