Protection of Urban Art Painting: A Laboratory Study

Abstract

Urban art is a form of artistic visual expression and communication that is created in the street and generally in the public dimension of urban spaces. Often these kinds of artworks are in outdoor environments, and they usually suffer from atmospheric weathering and anthropic vandalism. Recently, several strategies have been used to limit or remove the effects of such vandalism. Currently, the use of quartz paints is growing among artists; such paints after setting are more porous and rough on the surface with respect to regular paints. The aim of the study is to assess the performance of anti-graffiti coatings on quartz artworks paints. Two anti-graffiti products were chosen, and their behaviors were assessed in the laboratory by means of contact angle measurement, water capillary test, colorimetric analysis, and optical and electron microscopy. Results showed good water repellence efficacy of the tested products, demonstrating that they are suitable for the protection of urban art, but at least two applications on the surface are needed to achieve good performance.

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

“…COATINGS IN STREET ART Recently, the development and evaluation of several protective coatings became a necessity to preserve the integrity of artworks (especially if exposed outdoor) and slow down the degradation processes. In detail, coatings engineered for cultural heritage should have selected features, following accepted restoration standards and providing ideal protective coating properties, such as transparency, reversibility, compatibility with the surface, long-term durability, low-cost maintenance, and non-toxicity [15]. Most of the literature tested protective coatings on metal, glass, and stone heritage, while the applications related to Street Art protection are still limited, and the degradation and stability behaviors not well known.…”

Enhancing the performance of SILRES® BS OH 100 as a consolidant of archaeological limestone using nano-hydroxyapatite

“…There are no chemical interactions between the deteriorating factors and the surrounding environment without its presence [43]. Density, porosity and water absorption measurements were carried out according to UNI 10859:2000 [44,45] for untreated, treated and treated aged samples that were submitted to immersion in distilled water for 24 h after that the samples were taken out and wiped with tissue paper then weighed immediately. The values of density, water absorption and porosity were calculated using these following equations:…”

New Chemical Systems for the Removal of Calcareous Encrustations on Monumental Fountains: A Case Study of the Nymphaeum of Cerriglio

“…The ∆E* parameter gives information about the total difference in the treated surface and the action for each tested chelating agent. A different color (∆E*) > 5 can be detected by human eyes [39,40]. The simulation of surface color was obtained using color hex code.…”