The two large murals on the second floor of Courthouse 1 saw better days until recently. Painted long ago, over time misguided efforts at restoration involved putting a layer or two of varnish on the murals. Unfortunately, if varnish is not exposed to sunlight it darkens over time. This phenomenon occurred with our murals. In addition, for many years smoking was permitted in the courthouse, including in the rotunda. Each day, a miniscule layer of smoke and nicotine attached itself to the murals. As the days passed, those layers built up and helped darken the paintings. 

The team from Conrad Schmitt Studios inspected the murals and determined, thankfully, that no harsh chemicals would be needed to remove the built-up layers of smoke, nicotine, and varnish. In fact, the methods used to remove the unwanted layers are pretty simple: scraping and masking tape. 

Gentle scraping (you could even use your fingernail) removes the stuff you don't want and leaves the original paint behind. Masking tape that's available at any big box store helps pick up the bits that remain behind. 

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Here in this video clip (click the link to open), Danielle from Conrad Schmitt eyeballs part of the mural looking for bits of varnish. When she sees some, a quick press of masking tape lets her pull it away. (The masking tape is not your standard masking tape; it's a bit tackier but nowhere near as sticky as, say, duck tape.)