Response--The best preparation for your wall is to wash it with muriatic acid (be careful! it burns!). This will remove silicone used as a mold release that will also release your mural paints! After the muriatic acid has been applied and the wall stops "fizzing" then rinse it off, and apply Nova Gloss Medium and Varnish to the raw concrete diluted 10% with de-ionized water and mixed with 1/4 tsp of Basic H (Shaklee) per gallon. This should be thoroughly mixed with an electric mixing tool on your drill motor.
The mixture can be applied using sprayers or rollers, AND MUST BE APPLIED OVER AND OVER (20 APPLICATIONS) UNTIL THE WALL WILL HOLD NO MORE! You will be AMAZED at how much of this material the wall will absorb! It is VITAL that the Nova mixture NOT BE ALLOWED TO DRY BETWEEN APPLICATIONS. It is "WET ON WET" all the way! When the wall CAN TAKE NO MORE then allow it to dry for a week or so. After that time, use Nova Gesso with Gloss Medium and Varnish mixed in to give it more GRIP! (Add about 1/8 volume Nova Varnish).
When you paint your picture, it will stay for about 100 years (read my lips!) unless you use fugitive colors. For longevity, don't use any colors with a lightfastness co-efficient of over three (one to three should be your range).
When you paint, USE GLOSS MEDIUM AND VARNISH TO CREATE GLAZES, NOT WATER! If you use water, there will not be enough medium in the paint to keep it on the wall for very long!
Try not to use Gloss Medium and Varnish as a final varnish, as it will ABSORB SMOG, GRIME AND OTHER YUCK AND THEN TURN BROWN! Use Soluvar (Permanent Pigments Inc.) or an equivalent. You will be happy with the result!
Q--I am an artist based in London-England. I have been approached to work with a community group to produce a mural. Despite having past experience of this nature I have not attempted an outdoor piece. The wall is red brick, and I am unsure as to the best paint/primer to use. I have met the American artist that produced the "community bridge" mural, which I believe was in San Francisco, and I remember him mentioning the use of a very hardy German paint. I hope you can assist me in this matter.
--E.R., London, England
R--If the red brick is old, covered with grime, mold, lichen, etc, it should be sand-blasted or at least pressure washed before attempting to seal it. If there are deep mortar lines will this make it difficult to use as a painting surface?
After the wall has been water blasted or sandblasted, dilute a Rhoplex-based acrylic emulsion with about 10% water and a few drops of some sort of wetting agent such as Shaklee Basic H.
You can source the Rhoplex medium and varnish by contacting the conservation departments of any large art museum in England, and they will direct you to a local source. I hesitate to recommend further, as I am aware that materials that are available in England are often much different that those to be had in the United States.
Apply the diluted emulsion in as many coats as possible without drying in between. When the surface will accept no more, then let it dry for a few days if you have warm weather, and a week or more in cold/wet weather.
When the Rhoplex is dry, then you can gesso as you like, and then prepare to paint.
I am almost certain that the German paint system to which you refer is called KEIM and there is a distributor somewhere in England. If you have internet access, then you can search out their web site, or try to call the company in Germany. It is a system of mineral-based paint, and there are examples of certain masonry buildings painted with KEIM that are as bright as the day they were painted even after 100 years!
Q--I have recently completed my first mural in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and I have been searching for anti-graffiti strategies. From my research it seems that Soluvar varnish is the best option for my situation. I have read Art Mortimer's article on making one's own Soluvar-type varnish and found it very useful, although I am unsure if I will be able to find the resins needed. More to the point, is there a recipe for making smaller, ready-to-use, quantities of soluvar-type varnish? I need to cover an area of approximately 660 square feet, and I do not require any more.
--A.W., Ontario, Canada
R--Soluvar can be purchased from a number of art supply stores nationwide. It is made by "Permanent Pigments", which also manufactures Liquitex.
In Los Angeles, World Supply on Caheuenga Blvd. sells it in quart size which can be reduced by up to 50% in VM&P Naptha. Conservation Support Systems in Santa Barbara also sells Acrylloid B-67 in liquid as well as crystal form (this with the addition of 10% Acrylloid F-10 equals Soluvar). Phone: 805.682.9843 (Ask for Scott).
To cover 660 square feet, you will need about three to four quarts of Soluvar, and you can dilute it by up to 50%. It is best applied by spray (airless sprayer) and about three thinned coats would be indicated. It is much harder to apply with a roller, and you cannot overlap or go over the surface twice. . . .better use a spray outfit! You can get a small HVLP one quart sprayer from Home Depot for less than $200.00, and that will do a SUPERB job! You may have to fill the cup eight times, but it is an inexpensive solution, and you will find a million uses for the sprayer including varnishing your other paintings with Soluvar or Beva Varnish for spectacular results!
Q--I have a question for you regarding mural protection. After searching on the web, your site was refrerred to and after scanning through, its seems appropriate that I contact you, as you are obviously experts in this field.
I work for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motor Cars in England and have recently painted a mural (Wizard of Oz) for a local charity organisation. The mural needs a protective layer and I do not know what to use. The paint used is a water based emulsion, and I have used a permanent marker pen to highlight the main figures. I initially applied an undercoat to the freshly plastered internal wall. Apparantly a varnish would crack the paint and so another form of protection is needed; one that will protect the mural from dirt and wear and that will allow the mural to be easily cleaned.
--D.R., England
R--Thank you for your inquiry! That is what MCLA is all about. We are entirely operated by voluntees who are largely art professionals, conservators and muralists.
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
If your mural is indoors, it can be first coated with a clear emulsion (Rhoplex-based). You can use a Liquitex Emulsion Varnish, or an equivalent (Lascaux?, Golden?). When the gloss varnish has been applied by spray or sponge and allowed to dry for a week, then you can spray on a coat of Paraloid B-67 modified with10% of Paraloid F-10.
If you have Soluvar from Permanent Pigments or any solvent based Golden Varnish, it will be simpler. You can get the Paraloid products from a conservation supply center which you can track down through the conservation department of your larger museums. |
