Study on the Gel Cleaning System for Removal of Poly(Vinyl Acetate) Fixative of the Mural Paintings of the Payathonzu temple in Bagan, Myanmar (Ⅱ) : Focusing on Applicability of Gel Cleaners

Abstract

In this study, a gel cleaning experiment was conducted to stably remove the fixative(PVAc) used in the past conservation treatment of the mural painting of the Payathonzu temple. Thisstudy prepared mock-up samples reflecting the material properties and conservation status of the muralpainting of the Payathonzu temple, and conducted an experiment about the applicability of 6 typesof gel cleaners to discern potential changes when they are applied to the actual mural painting andto review their stability. This study found that the gel cleaner mixed with dimethyl carbonate had asuperior removal effect to the gel cleaner mixed with acetone. Furthermore, for the same solvent, thegelling agent showed the removal effect in the order of Nevek® > Carbopol®980 > Laponite®RD. Uponexamining change patterns after applying the cleaners, this study found that the cleaners with a superiorremoval power had a similar trend to that in removal effect evaluation in a previous study. In actuallyapplying to the mural painting, however, the cleaners showed some inconsistent results with those inremoval power evaluation, and it was confirmed that these results were attributable to the propertiesof the cleaners interacting with the properties of the mural painting and the extent of penetration ofthe fixative. It was also found that not only the conditions of the cleaners but also the material andpainting technique characteristics of the mural could have a huge effect during the removal of thefixative. What is most important in removing the fixative applied to the mural painting of the Payathonzutemple is to ensure the stability of its painting layer by using a cleaning method that is controllableby the person treating the painting, and then, the properties that can help to effectively remove thefixative are required. At a time whenthere are few related studies in Korea, this study and its methodmay serve as a reference for future research on the removal of the fixative applied to a mural.