Before we talk about how to easily remove graffiti let’s first get a better understanding of what forms graffiti takes. Graffiti, while considered by many to be an artform, can be quite a nuisance to property owners. The same technological advances that make paints, stickers and posters have a better bond to the substrate they adhere to makes it that much harder to remove graffiti. Here are the most common types of graffiti.
These are typically simple names or expressions drawn with spray paint or permanent markers.
Increasingly more elaborate paintings, primarily using spray paint and sometimes paint rollers that use numerous colors and cover a wider area.
These are made away from the application area and and can then be quickly applied using self-adhesives or glues to adhere them to surfaces.
All of the above have made increasingly harder to easily remove graffiti because they are designed to be as permanent as possible. A $4 spray paint can can generate $100s or even $1000s of dollars of clean up costs.
Painted block walls, especially those facing streets
Unpainted brick
Transportation structures like subway walls
Public bathroom tile, partitions, painted walls
Street, freeway and traffic signs
Wood fences
Monuments and Statues
Bridges
Any concrete surface
Graffiti bonds to porous surfaces. Painted walls, aging painted metal and street signs all provide am excellent surface for paint, especially spray paint to bond to. The more open the pores, or, the more textured a surface is, the harder it is to remove graffiti.
Aerosol solvent
Wire brush
Cleaning rags
PPE like safety glasses, dust masks, respirators
Trash bags
Soap and water
Paint scraper
Matching paint and related painting equipment
Rough surfaces can be almost impossible to remove graffiti and in many instances simply cleaning and repainting the surface can be the least costly way to restore the original features of the surface
These surfaces are commonly treated with either an aerosol solvent or wire brush. With solvents it is important to test a small area first to make sure that it will not have an adverse reaction on the material. The wire brush method is most effective when the surface can show a slight texture from the brush. These surfaces, with time, will often be able to go back to their original look.
In areas where there is prevalent graffiti or for items for which it would be highly costly to have to repair there is a better solution. Due to the porosity of most materials graffiti will have a strong bod to them and neither solvents, nor pressure washing will easily remove graffiti. The RexShield Graffiti system is a preventative measure. It is not applied after the graffiti. It is designed to be a “shield” for surfaces and does this by dramatically reducing the porosity of paint, masonry, plastic, metal and more so that the graffiti doesn’t actually bond to the surface.
A simple pressure washing allows the paint to separate from the substrate so that chemicals or mechanical abrasion is not required.
-Clean surface to remove dust and other contaminants
-Spray surface with a pump sprayer and wipe down with microfiber, if needed
-For vertical surfaces spray from the bottom up to avoid dripping
RexPro Sealers & Coatings offers an innovative line of coatings for a variety of substrates such as Interior Flooring, All Vinyl Surfaces (VCT), Hardscapes (pavers, concrete, and building materials), Industrial and Residential, Boats and other Marine Vessels, and Oil and Gas.
