Murals of East Los Angeles
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  • About Us
  • East Los Angeles and Murals
    • America Tropical
    • Bridges of L.A.
    • El Movimiento
    • Immaculate Perception
    • Innocence
    • Organic Stimulus
    • The Great Wall of Los Angeles
    • The Wall That Speaks, Sings, and Shouts
    • Virgin's Seed (East Los Angeles Mural)
    • We are not a Minority!
  • Tools Used for Murals
    • Oil Paints
    • Acrylic
    • Airbrushing and Spray Painting
    • Finishing Touches to a Mural
  • Suggestions
  • Bibliography

Finishing Touches to a Mural

Protecting the mural is to use some of the various graffiti-resistant finishes that are commercially available. These range from protective wax coatings that are removed with hot water to the 2-component, solvent-based polyurethane coatings. They tend to have excellent chemical resistance, so that graffiti can be fairly easily stripped off without harming the coating. They also have excellent weather ability, and thus require less maintenance. 

The function of the isolation coat is to physically isolate the paint from the removable varnish. An isolation coat also develops a thicker layer of acrylic, which will give better protection and durability and serves to unify the acrylic paint layer. After the isolation coat is applied and has thoroughly dried Varnish can be applied. 

The MSA Varnish w/ UVLS is an excellent choice as a protective finish. This product provides a tough, durable surface that increases resistance to moisture and pollutants. The UV stabilizing system will serve to reduce the destructive potential of ultraviolet radiation from the sun, thus enhancing the life of the system. This varnish is removable in mineral spirits, turpentine and various aromatic solvents, which is a useful property for either graffiti removal or maintenance purposes.
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