Have you ben asking: can pressure washing remove graffiti? This article looks at the reasons to remove graffiti from your business and the steps to remove graffiti.
Can I Remove Graffiti with a Professional Pressure Washer?
Graffiti clearance is frequently outsourced by public authorities to organisations that are not highly trained in the topic. Markers, spray cans, and paints are frequently discovered on buses or bus shelters, as well as on monuments and structures constructed of more fragile materials such as stone and plaster.
Using non-specific detergents, solvents, or abrasive instruments risks harming surfaces while failing to remove the paint.
Graffiti removal by a qualified high-pressure cleaner is a good investment, particularly for a business or public body over the long run.
An efficient product that is made from high-quality components and furnished with a range of accessories enables the machine to be utilised often and for a long time with the best performance and outcomes.
High-pressure cold water cleaners are the best choice for eliminating filth, such as dirt from the environment. These are the best way to remove moss and vegetation from public parks, as well as mould from plaster and walls. Hot water high-pressure cleaners are the best way to get rid of tough stains, particularly greasy or oily ones.
If a high-pressure cleaning solution to remove graffiti is necessary, hot water high-pressure cleaners are the best option. Choosing to remove graffiti with professional high-pressure cleaners ensures access to a versatile product that is perfect in a variety of different settings.
The temperature of the jet reaches 110°C, and thanks to the combined action of pressure and heat, stains are removed with no damage to the underlying surface.
Removing Graffiti using a High-Pressure Cleaner
Public agencies frequently hire organisations with a low level of expertise to remove graffiti; utilising non-specialised detergents, chemicals, or abrasive instruments runs the danger of harming surfaces without really removing the paint.
Using a high-pressure cleaner to remove graffiti avoids these problems and saves both time and money.
Choosing to remove graffiti with high-pressure cleaners ensures that the solution will be flexible, making the decision a beneficial long-term investment.
Reasons to Remove Graffiti from Your Business
In an ideal world, buyers would not judge a book by its cover, or your company by its appearance. Unfortunately, that is not the world in which we live. A person seeking a new job is more likely to prefer a tidy, elegant, graffiti-free building than one covered in scrawled letters and animations. This is especially critical if your firm relies on foot traffic.
Small signals of criminality, believe it or not, can lead to larger crimes. If there is any graffiti on your building, it may attract other criminals who will mark it up, assuming that the structure is poorly monitored and safe to work on.
You may not have realised it, but the external paint on your building is designed expressly to safeguard edifices. This implies that adding spray paint to your building's outer layer of protection against the weather will degrade it. The longer graffiti remains on your structure, the deeper it penetrates the subsoil and the more harm it does to the material beneath it.
To summarise, remove graffiti as soon as possible to avoid causing damage to your building. The truth is that if you leave the graffiti alone without removing or fixing it, you may wind up incurring additional fees in the long run.
It might diminish the value of your home, affect sales prices, and create the appearance that your property is worth less than it is. Remember that the sooner you remove the graffiti, the easier it will be. If you wait too long, it will become more difficult and expensive to remove.
Steps to Remove Graffiti:
Setting the Expectations
Graffiti on painted surfaces should be avoided at all costs. You can paint over the graffiti in matching paint unless the tag is felt pen or a rapid 1-layer coat of graffiti, and the colour is not a vivid blue, red, green, etc. The only drawback of paint-overs is that if you don't apply enough coats, the graffiti will begin to show through.
Also, if you conduct a paint-over on concrete or brick, it will be difficult to remove both the paint covering the graffiti tag and the original graffiti tag. Overall, it is a low-cost choice that reflects poorly on whoever maintains the facility.
Pressure washing will not eliminate the graffiti; but, if it is fresh, a pressure washer might remove a lot of the paint. If the graffiti tag has dried and rested for a time, water pressure will only remove a slice of the paint, causing irreversible damage to the surface the tag is on. A chemical must be used to break down and dissolve the graffiti.
Grab your Chemicals and Tools
Bare Brick Remover is intended for use on brick, concrete, limestone, and other hard porous surfaces; it is one of their most potent products. It is also advised to apply this on painted, hard surfaces such as painted concrete and cinderblock walls.
Sensitive Surface Remover is used on glass, signs, wood, delicately painted surfaces, granite, and metals; it is less prone to etch surfaces and remove their original gloss.
Feltpen Fadeout is a specialist product designed to erase inks and pen marks, but it may also be used as an all-purpose graffiti remover if you don't have Bare Brick or Sensitive Surface on hand.
Muriatic acid is used to eliminate the shadows left by heavy acrylic graffiti on concrete and masonry. Waterproof gloves, protective eyewear, a respirator, a 2-inch nylon brush and a small bucket for applying graffiti remover, and either a pressure washer or garden hose with an adjustable sprayer are recommended tools.
Contrary to popular belief, a pressure washer is not strictly necessary for cleaning graffiti off masonry and concrete. If you require muriatic acid, use a pump sprayer to apply your 6:1 water to the muriatic acid solution - always remember to add acid to water, not water to an acid; doing it incorrectly can result in an explosion.
Start Removing the Graffiti
Graffiti removal is largely the same for all substrates, whether brick, marble, or glass. The key distinctions are the chemical used, the number of chemical treatments performed, and the amount of water pressure that may be applied to your surface. Start by wetting your surface with water.
Three times, separated by three minutes, should be used to deliver the substance. Start by creating a thick layer of graffiti in a swirling pattern at the top left corner of the tag. As you make your way to the right, walk down the hallway like you're reading a book.
When the three minutes are up, stop and reapply the chemical using the same swirling movements over the same area that you just worked on. Graffiti should start to appear on the building's side, some of it perhaps fading in colour.
You have given the graffiti permission to begin dissolving the acrylic paint, which is a positive indication. During this period, stir with your brush any thicker portions of brick or concrete that are still concealing the substrate beneath.
Use the green tip on your pressure washer or a garden hose with a jet nozzle to rinse off the graffiti if it is on painted surfaces, glass, signs, or marble, or if you are removing it from any of those materials. If washing the area effectively erased the graffiti, you may go on to the next component of the graffiti tag. If you're not happy with the results, rinse after applying another layer as directed above.
On these sorts of surfaces, we often apply only two coats. Repeat the chemical application if you're working on brick, concrete, limestone, or any other hard porous surface. The regions where acrylic was lightly sprayed by this point should reveal your substrate behind the graffiti tag, and the whole area you cleaned should be covered with a flowing mixture of chemicals and paint. Start by giving your surface a little pressure wash to get rid of the graffiti.
While working on the following portion of the tag, spot-clean any locations where there is still graffiti with a chemical. Check the area for any residual shadows of the tag after you have eliminated all of the graffiti. Add 3 cups of muriatic acid to 3 quarts of water in a pump sprayer and check to see whether you can still make out the contour of the tag.
Apply substantial amounts of muriatic acid to the tag, let it set for 5–15 minutes, and then pressure wash it off (while wearing a mask because the fumes might irritate your respiratory system). If the shadow of the tag is still visible, you can try again.
Ripon Exterior Cleaning offer graffiti removal in Stockton-on-Tees and the surrounding areas. We perform our graffiti removal services with the highest attention and efficiency.
