Alex Sandoval and Carlos Flores of Sculpture Conservation Studio treated The Bruin to a little TLC in advance of move-in weekend and the start of the 2016-17 academic year. The five-step "spa treatment" included a thorough cleaning with non-chemical soap and water, followed by a mineral wash. After that, the Bruin received a heat-intensive treatment to open up its metallic pores. Then UCLA's beloved icon was coated with a sealing wax before getting a final rubdown.
Sandoval and Flores got to work this morning at 7 a.m. and were expecting to finish by mid-afternoon. For the past 17 years, Sandoval has been cleaning The Bruin four or five times a year — and whenever vandals strike — in addition to caring for other campus statues. “When I first started, it was only this high,” joked Sandoval, as he gestured toward the statue’s legs. The Bruin was a gift to the campus from the UCLA Alumni Association in 1984. It measures 10 feet long, 6 feet tall and 3 feet across and weighs more than 2 tons.
