Coatings in Cultural Heritage: Original Surfaces, Protection and Long-Term Performance

Dear Colleagues,

From exposed historical monuments to sheltered museum antiquities, cultural heritage artifacts are under constant threat from environmental pollution, climate change, biological colonization, and human impact. Preserving these invaluable assets requires a deep mechanistic understanding of surface degradation paired with the development of sustainable, cutting-edge protective strategies. Today, surface science and functional coating technologies stand at the forefront of heritage science, providing critical breakthroughs necessary to secure the long-term survival of global cultural property.

Outdoor stone architecture and historic facades suffer accelerated decay due to atmospheric acid deposition, freeze–thaw cycles, and the crystallization of soluble salts within porous networks. Simultaneously, outdoor bronze and iron monuments undergo complex electrochemical corrosion driven by sulphur dioxide and rising relative humidity levels. Beyond outdoor monuments, metallic, coated and decorated surfaces in museum and industrial collections undergo equally complex alteration, frequently over much longer timescales. To combat these aggressive phenomena without altering the aesthetic or physical properties of the underlying substrate, the field of conservation urgently requires highly advanced interfacial solutions.

Recent innovations in nanotechnology and polymer chemistry have led to new horizons, such as the introduction of self-cleaning superhydrophobic surfaces, eco-friendly bio-based consolidants, and smart coatings embedded with corrosion inhibitors or biocides. However, ensuring the compatibility, reversibility, and long-term durability of these treatments remains a complex challenge in materials science. Evaluating their performance requires a rigorous combination of non-destructive testing (NDT), microscopic imaging, and depth-profiling surface characterization techniques. Equally central to this field is the study of the heritage surface itself—its original coatings, manufacturing technologies, and naturally formed corrosion layers—which provides the material baseline against which any protective strategy must be assessed.

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for the latest advancements in the synthesis, application, and characterization of original and protective surface layers designed specifically for cultural heritage substrates. We welcome original research articles and comprehensive reviews that bridge the gap between fundamental surface engineering and practical conservation science, addressing both the original surfaces of heritage objects and the strategies developed to protect them.

Topics of interest for publication include the following:

• Advanced coatings for the consolidation and protection of porous cultural heritage materials (stone, mortar, brick).
• Innovative surface characterization techniques (micro-analytical, non-destructive, and depth-profiling methods) applied to heritage surfaces.
• Eco-friendly and bio-based protective coatings and hydrophobic treatments.
• Corrosion inhibitors and smart protective coatings for historical metallic artifacts.
• Evaluation of coating durability, weathering resistance, and long-term stability under simulated and real-world environmental conditions, including the natural long-term ageing of historical objects.
• Green chemistry approaches to conservation coatings: solvent substitution, Hansen Solubility Parameters, and reducing CLP-classified hazards in formulations.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and sustainability metrics applied to protective treatments and surface-cleaning protocols for cultural heritage.
• Bio-based products and materials for conservation: renewable consolidants, coatings, and cleaning systems derived from natural sources.

Dr. Eduarda Vieira
Dr. Isabel Tissot
Dr. Andrea Macchia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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