You have been in this situation before, you drive up to your building and see that someone has painted their name in ten foot letters right in front of your main entrance. Some people call it art, you have no problem with art except for when it is spray painted all over your building when you have clients coming in less than an hour. If you own or manage a property you know how much of a nuisance graffiti and other forms of vandalism can be. On average, professional graffiti removal can cost several hundred and even thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the surface. However there are other tricks to try before falling back on commercial sandblasting services.
Try Painting Over it
If the vandalized surface is a painted surface, the quickest fix is to just repaint over it, it saves you money and also gives you a chance to refresh your paint job. If frequent graffiti is a problem look into anti-graffiti commercial paint. The non stick nature of the paint will prevent the next spray-can Picasso from using your walls to create their latest master piece.
The Worst enemy of Wheat Paste Poster, The Wire Brush
In Recent years there has been a surge of street artists using wheat paste and paper to form intricate collages. Luckily, unlike paint, these nuisances are easily beaten with a wire brush and a little bit of elbow grease. To tackle offending wheat paste art pieces, get a copper wire brush, a sponge, and hot soapy water. Soak the poster with as much soapy water as you can and just brush away the paper using a gentle circular motion. The poster will be gone in no time at all.
For Stubborn Graffiti, Commercial Sandblasting Services May Be The Way to Go
Unfortunately the only way to remove some of the larger and more inaccessible pieces of graffiti will require employing commercial sandblasting services. In the long run the cost might actually balance out with the time saved. There are several companies that specialize in graffiti removal and prevention, by shopping around you should fine a fair price. Several property managers in high graffiti areas have commercial painters come by each month to tackle graffiti, like pest control.
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Hire ‘Em
Unfortunately, the struggle between graffiti artists and property owners is a war of attrition. A clean new wall looks like a canvas for the street artist. Especially if your building is in a high graffiti area, it probably seems like every time you clean up one piece another pops up in it’s place. Several property owners have found luck in stopping graffiti by commissioning local street artist to do murals on or near their properties. What many people may not know is that high level graffiti artists are generally well rounded artists of different painting and drawing styles. It’s always better to work with people than work against them. More like this blog.
