Graffiti Removal on Mural

There are several beautiful murals (older & newer) that have been painted on the walls around Grants Pass, Oregon.  I love them, and often wish there were MORE, or  that I could paint on.  I would especially love to paint a mural with my father - hopefully some day.

But, I was very disappointed last week when I noticed that one of the murals that is on the wall at the Buona Sera Inn had been tagged with graffiti - red spray paint.  After driving by it for several days, I decided to do something about it.  I approached one of the owners of the hotel and offered to help remove the spray paint - for free.  I"m doing this because this is where I live, and I don't want to see this happening here.  They offered to pay me $50 - which I accepted, since it is still a small enough amount that I am still basically volunteering my services to help out.

I contacted someone I know at the Bear Hotel, where I had created my bear sculpture last year, to see if they had any ideas for how to remove spray paint.  They told me that when they have had to remove spray paint from the bear sculptures in the past, they have used Mr. Clean (Mr. Kleen?) "Magic Eraser Sponges."  So, I decided to give it a try today.

It is working, but will take me quite a bit of time.  So, over the next few days, I will do what I can to remove as much as possible and then I will re-paint the rest of it - touching up the mural.  This is my plan.  The hotel will be paying for any materials I use.

Here are the photos of before & after I tried out the "Magic Eraser Sponges":

I will re-post about this again once I am finished with this project.