In the last twenty years, graffiti has become a growing problem for many cities in the United States. San Antonio, Texas has recently doubled down on its efforts to rid the city of this eye sore. In recent years, graffiti writing has spread to rural and suburban neighborhoods. Some continually have to resort to calling a company in San Antonio. Sandblasting, while causing a lot of wear and tear on the exterior of buildings, appears to be effective. Others try to detect the vandals by applying a method available in San Antonio. Coatings are applied to selected walls to resist products used in vandalism. Some communities have even found a way to transform shattered glass into art.

Whatever methods are used to clean up the mess or discourage taggers, serious steps must be taken to control this widespread problem. There are several different methods of removing paint left by vandals on the walls of buildings. The type used will depend on the material and texture of the wall surface. Aiming the side of a building with a high-pressure sprayer filled with tiny crystals essentially scrapes away the paint and the surface it adheres to. However, there are a couple of problems with this method.

First, even in a newer building, the treated surface always looks cleaner than the surrounding surface. Second, it is impossible to completely lift the paint from rough or porous surfaces, so even after cleaning, the paint may still be somewhat visible. A second method uses abrasive cleaners that come in powder form and are a mixture of baking soda or pumice stone. The abrasive is mixed with water and applied with a high pressure sprayer. This method is especially effective on a metal surface. The powder is inexpensive and readily available, but renting professional spray equipment is expensive. It’s also a time-consuming process, so many times it’s best to hire a cleaning company to complete the job.

The use of caustic, chemical or chlorinated solvents is more complicated to use because they can irritate the skin and eyes. With this method, sodium hydroxide, commonly known as bleach, is applied to the surface of a building as a paste over which a backing is applied, and the bleach is allowed to sit for a period of time to absorb the paint. When the backing is removed, the paint comes off with it. But because workers must deal with the paste while it’s wet, evaporation can become a problem. This method comes with several complications. Because the paste can dry quickly, only small surface areas can be worked on at a time. Also, bleach leaches into the wood and stains it, so wood surfaces can’t be painted for 60 to 120 days or new paint will dissolve.

A soy-based solvent gel has recently come onto the market and is a safer option because the solvent is non-toxic and has no harmful odor or fumes. It is applied by brush or thick roller and while it slowly evaporates, it cooks or dissolves the paint in a couple of hours. The surface can then be rinsed with a hose while the paint and gel wash away safely into the ground or storm sewer without harming people, animals or the environment. Hopefully, the rapid and consistent removal of graffiti will deter public painters from ruining our towns and cities.

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