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A member of my church approached me today and asked if I could clean a painted decorative mural above the stained glass windows in the sanctuary. This is an arched area of about 100 square feet. It is mostly leaves and flowers of small size, green and red on a brown background. There is not too much visible dirt, just variations in the shades which may or may not be dirt. On the whole the mural has a washed-out look.
I have no real experience in this area but am willing to climb up and experiment on a small section. I do not know whether the mural is painted on plaster or wood. There is no money for a real restoration nor is it worth it in my opinion but I promised to do what I could. Does anyone have any advice before I move the altar and climb up to take a look and try cleaning a small spot. TIA
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Schelling,
I believe there is a product that is made for cleaning painted surfaces because it brightens the colors. I think I read about it in a post on the Painter's BB...if I'm right, that would sure be the stuff to use. If not, then just use a mild soap well diluted in warm water. Unless there is something unusual going on, the dirt will wipe right off easily. About the only tip I can think of is to start at the top and work down... lol
Here's the link to PWC, the painter's board. Just re-post your question there...odds are good somebody will think of the product.
Q
*Oops, forgot the link...Here it is:http://www.paintstore.com/board/list.php?f=4Q
*Schelling, I have read several articles describing restorations of old paintings etc and it sounds like you need to be very careful. If there is a College, or Art Museum near you, you may want to ask thier art department for suggestions. The College might even take on the project as part of a class. It cannot hurt to ask. The main thing is, I would at least get some professional advice so as not to ruin the mural.
*From what I saw in Europe (churches), they just use cotton swaps and plain water. Wet the swap, rub in tiny circles, blot off with a cotton towel.Repeat...a couple thousand times...I don't recall if that was just for frescoes or for other painted surfaces as well.
*Qualc- Thanks for the link. I posted the question there and I will let you know what I learn. This is no Last Supper and it is not really that bad anyway, but I promised to look into it.
*If experimenting, try diluted white vineger.Be careful "starting at the top." Sometimes drips over uncleaned ssurfaces can be very difficult to remove. I donno why. Washing exterior instructioins always say start at the bottom and work up, but I suspect they're assuming the lower surfaces will remain wet and have drips repeatedly sprayed off.
*Definitely be careful starting top or bottom, and use damp rags with water. blot dry. try not to use alot of water.near the stream,ajAny soap you use will attract dirt much quicker later after you are done!
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A member of my church approached me today and asked if I could clean a painted decorative mural above the stained glass windows in the sanctuary. This is an arched area of about 100 square feet. It is mostly leaves and flowers of small size, green and red on a brown background. There is not too much visible dirt, just variations in the shades which may or may not be dirt. On the whole the mural has a washed-out look.
I have no real experience in this area but am willing to climb up and experiment on a small section. I do not know whether the mural is painted on plaster or wood. There is no money for a real restoration nor is it worth it in my opinion but I promised to do what I could. Does anyone have any advice before I move the altar and climb up to take a look and try cleaning a small spot. TIA