A to Z on Graffiti Removal

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A to Z on Graffiti Removal
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Synopsis

1. Handling Graffiti Removal - Is Your Company
   Properly Outfitted to Do it?
2. 6 Solvents for Graffiti Removal with Ease
3. How to Choose the Best Graffiti Removal Company?
4. Graffiti Removal - Tips and Tricks
5. Graffiti Removal for 4 Different Surfaces
6. 4 Effective Methods of Graffiti Removal
7. Indoor and Outdoor Graffiti Removal
8. Graffiti Removal Precautionary Measures to Take

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Handling Graffiti Removal - Is Your Company
Properly Outfitted to Do it?

• The Products They are Using
• There are so many graffiti removal products
  available in the commercial cleaning sphere that
  choosing the best one from them becomes a
  difficult job. Most of these products were
  created by companies who had just one thing in
  mind profits. While there is no harm in worrying
  about the bottom line of their business, you need
  to buy products from companies who know what they
  are making and offering to their customers. They
  should no the industry and should make products
  accordingly.
• The Product Should be Environment Friendly
• As a socially responsible business, you should
  only invest in graffiti removal products that are
  environment friendly. Make sure the graffiti
  removal products you choose will not cause any
  harm to the environment, as there are many such
  products that contain harmful chemicals that take
  a lot of time to breakdown and remain in the
  environment for a long time, causing irreparable
  damage to the environment.
• The Surface with Graffiti
• There is no one product that fits all. You need
  to choose one according to the surface you are
  trying to get graffiti removed from. Graffiti
  removal products work best when they are tailored
  to the specific surfaces. When choosing a
  graffiti removal product, make sure you choose
  one that is environment friendly, safe, and fast
  while also being effective on the specific
  surface.

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6 Solvents for Graffiti Removal with Ease

• Turpentine
• Turpentine is used to dissolve hardened paint
  that has been on your walls for a long period of
  time. When you are attempting to remove graffiti
  from a wall for the first time after days of its
  application, turpentine should be your first
  choice.
• Mineral Spirits
• These are more commonly known as White Spirits.
  You can use them as a substitute for turpentine.
  These are actually used as paint thinners by many
  artists. Mineral spirits are more effective with
  fresh graffiti.
• Naphtha
• This solvent is basically a highly flammable
  cleaning agent. It works best on removing crayon
  graffiti. But you have to be careful while using
  it. Make sure you have proper ventilation around
  you when youre working with it. Wear protective
  rubber gloves and respiratory masks just to be
  safe.

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6 Solvents for Graffiti Removal with Ease

• Methylene Chloride
• This is a solvent that is mostly used for
  removing paint. It can remove any and all types
  of graffiti but due to its extreme nature you
  have to be careful while using it. Use all
  precautions necessary, rubber gloves, respiratory
  masks etc.
• Alcohol
• As a graffiti remover, alcohol is very useful. It
  is available in many forms such as methyl, ethyl,
  isopropyl or even denatured alcohol. In fact, you
  can also remove graffiti with rubbing alcohol
  which is generally used for external medicinal
  purposes. It loosens up hard paint easily. It is
  particularly efficient in removing pencil stains
  from wood, magic markers and even permanent
  markers.
• Acetone
• This solvent is the most effective when it comes
  to removing stains from plastic surfaces.
  However, it also has harmful effects for
  Plexiglas. In addition, it releases fumes which
  are hazardous if inhaled. Therefore, you must use
  respiratory masks to make sure you dont end up
  inhaling any of the fumes.

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How to Choose the Best Graffiti Removal Company?

• Search Online
• The first thing to do when looking for a graffiti
  removal company near you is to run a quick online
  search. This will help you locate the services
  near you, allowing you to make a quick list. This
  list can then be shortlisted further based on the
  points that follow below.
• Recommendations
• You should also ask the people around you for
  recommendations about graffiti removal companies.
  There must be people and businesses around you
  that might have used graffiti removal services
  and have an experience with these companies. They
  can provide you feedback about the firsthand
  experience with these companies, which can help
  you choose the best one for your business.

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How to Choose the Best Graffiti Removal Company?

• Affordability
• When looking for a graffiti removal service, one
  of the main things to consider is the cost. You
  dont want to end up burning a hole in your
  pocket with these services. You need to choose
  the one that offers their graffiti removal
  services within your budget. It is best to ask
  for a quote before you hire them for their
  services.
• Experience
• It is best to choose a graffiti removal company
  that is experienced in what they do. They will
  know how to take care of your walls and imply the
  best methods for graffiti removal. They will not
  damage your property, thus you dont have to
  worry about paying extra in repairs. They will
  also make sure to offer you the best personnel as
  per your specific graffiti removal needs.

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Graffiti Removal - Tips and Tricks

• Clean the Surface
• Before beginning with the process of graffiti
  removal, make sure you clean the surface
  thoroughly. Start from the top and work your way
  to the bottom and catch any liquid that falls as
  you clean.
• Chalk or Spray
• The kind of technique that will work best for
  graffiti removal depends on what type the
  graffiti is. Pressure washers work best when you
  are dealing with chalk graffiti. On the other
  hand, you will have to use some abrasives such as
  acetone, paint thinner, or other baking soda
  based products to remove graffiti done with spray
  paints. It also depends on the surface the paint
  is sprayed at as everything doesnt work best in
  all cases.
• Clean the Entire Area
• While the main aim is to remove graffiti, you
  cannot leave the entire wall as such and just
  clean a small part of it. This is going to leave
  an outline of the graffiti on the wall, which
  looks really bad. Therefore, plan to clean the
  entire wall or any other structure. Clean the
  whole area and dont just focus on a small part
  where the graffiti was.

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Graffiti Removal for 4 Different Surfaces

• Brick Walls
• Nearly everything that stands still is a target
  for graffiti. Residential and commercial
  buildings have to take the brunt of graffiti 90
  of the time. Their brick surfaces and matte paint
  suffers maximum damage. Commonly used methods for
  removing graffiti from brick walls include sand
  blasting, soda blasting, pressure washing and
  chemical stripping.
• Steel Surfaces
• The positive point about steel surfaces and
  stainless steel is that they are very resistant
  and non-absorbent which basically means that they
  dont absorb paint. You do not need any strong
  chemical graffiti removers for the purpose of
  cleaning these surfaces. Instead, the soft
  application of mineral spirits can suffice for
  removing graffiti from steel surfaces.

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Graffiti Removal for 4 Different Surfaces

• Wooden Surfaces
• Wooden surfaces are very hard to tackle when it
  comes to graffiti removal because sometimes, when
  the wood is too weathered, it will absorb the
  paint. In such a case, if you work extensively to
  remove the graffiti, you will end up damaging the
  surface of the wood. The better option in these
  cases is to paint over the wood.
• Plastic Surfaces
• Plastic chairs or tables which become victims of
  graffiti art always end up being one of the most
  difficult surfaces to remove graffiti from. A
  light solvent can damage it. Even if you apply
  mineral spirit on it, the plastic will get thick
  or cloudy. You can try using penetrating oil to
  remove graffiti but sometimes it works and
  sometimes it just does not. In this case,
  repainting the plastic surface is a better
  option.

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4 Effective Methods of Graffiti Removal

• Paint over the graffiti
• If the graffiti covers a larger area and has not
  seeped into the walls then you can paint over it.
  You can get a color that is similar to the walls
  of the building. However, make sure to buy sealer
  coat paint otherwise the graffiti might bleed out
  through the new coat of paint. You also need to
  keep the shade in mind. If the color is dark then
  you can just paint over the graffiti, but if the
  wall color is light it would be advisable to
  remove the graffiti first otherwise the vibrant
  colors of the graffiti may show through.
• Cleaners
• You can remove the traces of graffiti from your
  property by using some specialist products. You
  can buy the newer, more efficient solvents from
  the nearest hardware store to you. However, you
  need to make sure that the product is not toxic
  otherwise it can bring potential harm to your
  health and those around you.

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4 Effective Methods of Graffiti Removal

• Water Pressure or Blasting
• Graffiti, colossal sized and painted on a porous
  and previously unpainted surface, may need a
  little bit of a more heavy duty cleaning system.
  For such a situation it is better that you use
  water at a high pressure or a sandblaster. It is
  recommended that you hire and expert to do the
  cleaning because one false would lead to the
  creation of an unwanted pore in the structure. If
  you do use a pressure washing technique, it is
  better to use a washer with low pressure and a
  wider spray nozzle.
• Chemicals
• If the graffiti has been sprayed on the
  unweathered and paint sealed wood, then you
  should use mineral spirits to clean off the
  painting. However, you need to keep in check that
  the wood should not be weathered otherwise the
  painting will seep into the wall. Paint thinners
  will remove graffiti from metal and glass
  surfaces more efficiently. If the graffiti has
  been done with a felt pen on the glass, aluminum,
  or smooth cement then you only have to use
  dishwashing detergent.

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Indoor and Outdoor Graffiti Removal

• Indoor Graffiti Removal
• Indoor graffiti is spread out on tables, chairs,
  restroom doors and restroom walls. Commonly,
  indoor graffiti is made with pencils, ball-points
  and in some cases knife blades.
• For pencils and ball-point ink, any type of
  cleaning agent can easily do the job for you. You
  will face trouble while removing the graffiti
  that has been scratched into the walls but ink is
  easier to remove. You would not even need to rub
  the surface too much to clean the pencil and ink.
  
• Just dab the spot with a piece of cloth which is
  soaked in the cleaning agent a few times. It
  should do the trick.
• If you have to treat vertical surfaces, use
  foaming cleaners.
• For surfaces that have been scratched, you have
  to analyze the scratches first. For instance, if
  the scratches have only disturbed the outer layer
  of the paint, you can use common paint softeners
  to take care of this.
• If the scratches are deep and some of the paint
  has been peeled off then the wiser option is to
  repaint the area.

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Indoor and Outdoor Graffiti Removal

• Outdoor Graffiti Removal
• In case of outdoor areas, graffiti removal
  becomes a tad more difficult than it is for the
  indoor surfaces. That is mostly due to the fact
  that things outside have so many different kinds
  of surfaces and each surface requires its own
  graffiti-removal-protocol!
• For example, if youre treating graffiti on glass
  surfaces you will need gel based graffiti removal
  products so the glass itself is not affected by
  the removal process. The most dreadful part of
  cleaning a glass surface is the fact that some
  stains just stick to it. Make sure that does not
  happen with you.
• On the other hand, if you are dealing with chalk
  graffiti over brick walls, you will need a high
  pressure washer for removing it.
• For metal surfaces, you can also use natural
  products like baking soda and citrus juices to
  remove graffiti off of it. Metal surfaces do not
  absorb the paint which makes the removal much
  easier through natural elements.

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Graffiti Removal Precautionary Measures to Take

• Optimal Work Conditions
• Ensure that the day you choose to work on is
  suitable in terms of weather condition and human
  and traffic movement in the precise location.
  Avoid the graffiti removal processing on the days
  where weather updates predict chances of rain,
  fog or ice-related conditions.
• Safety Gear
• Personal protection equipment is extremely
  important to ensure that you are completely safe
  in case of incidents and any unexpected
  situation. You need to lace yourself up with
  appropriate safety gear including safety
  sunglasses, high visibility vest, appropriate
  footwear suitable for the work nature, protective
  headgear, gloves, and dust masks. These tools are
  mandatory to make sure you are safe from all
  kinds of hazards and the execution of graffiti
  removal process will not impact you negatively.
• Worksite Precautions
• On the site you are working graffiti removal, it
  is essential that you take sufficient measures to
  ensure the safety and protection. What you need
  to do on the worksite is to activate the warning
  lights right after you arrive.

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Graffiti Removal Precautionary Measures to Take

• Acts to Avoid and Perform
• While engaged in the graffiti removal process,
  you need to ensure following acts are executed
• Chemicals that are to be used in the removal
  process are appropriately labelled.
• Chemical substances are stored safely and in a
  manner that minimises the risk of injury.
• All tools are in optimum working conditions.
• The acts that need to be avoided during the
  process are
• Do not smoke near the worksite. It can cause an
  adverse reaction to chemicals in close proximity.
• Do not indulge in dealing with chemicals without
  covering your face with protective gear and hands
  covered in gloves. You don't want your skin or
  eyes getting affected by the chemical.
• Do not place the ladder on an uneven surface if
  there is a need for one. Falls from the ladder
  can lead you to substantial injuries.

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The End

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