The extent of deterioration and loss of painted Mayan surfaces has been shown by comparison with painstaking watercolor renditions by Adela Catherine Breton in the early 1900s. A survey of color at Palenque, begun by Merle Greene Robinson in 1973, helped during reconstruction of the paintings after a volcanic eruption abraded them in 1982. The author makes a plea for recording remaining traces of Mayan paintings before they are lost to light fading, acid rain attack, microorganisms, harmful conservation (silicone is mentioned) and other causes.