Graffiti can be a persistent and frustrating issue for property owners and municipalities here in the Inland Northwest. Especially during the summer months, it is not uncommon for unwanted tags and spray paint to mar the appearance of buildings, fences, signage, or even fleet vehicles.
Fortunately, by utilizing your pressure washer along with cost-effective, professional graffiti removal products, it has become easier than ever to effectively remove graffiti and restore surfaces to their original condition.
To help you with this process, we have compiled some time- and labor-saving tips to help you rid your property of unwanted graffiti quickly and effectively on the first try.
Don't Let Graffiti Sit
The faster you can remove graffiti, the easier it will be for you to remove. This is because the longer paint or ink can sit, the more time it will have to adhere to a surface or to seep even deeper into porous surfaces like brick or concrete.
This is why it’s important to have some of the following recommended tools on hand and ready to use, so you can tackle graffiti while it is fresh and easier to remove.
Different Surfaces Require Different Methods
Determining which graffiti removal product or pressure washing method will work best to remove your graffiti depends on the type of surface that has been tagged.
Non-Porous Surfaces
Non-porous surfaces including glass, metal, vinyl, and plastic can usually be cleared by utilizing biodegradable graffiti removers and simply wiping or rinsing away. Tougher, set-in graffiti may require the use of a higher-pressure rinse from a pressure washer.
Soft Porous Surfaces
Soft porous surfaces like stucco and wood absorb paint and inks, making graffiti more challenging to remove. However, by combining graffiti removal products, low PSI pressure washing, and other careful cleaning techniques you can remove graffiti without damaging the existing surface.
Hard Porous Surfaces
Hard porous surfaces such as brick, concrete, and stone also absorb graffiti. However, applying a masonry based, biodegradable graffiti remover can help break down the paint on the surface. If needed, more aggressive, higher-pressure cleaning methods can be utilized to remove the remaining graffiti as well.
Painted Surfaces
Painted surfaces can potentially be damaged depending on the method that you chose to remove graffiti. It should be noted, for example, that most solvent based graffiti removers aren’t good for painted surfaces, nor are turbo nozzles or wet sandblasters.
Methods for Graffiti Removal
Professional, Biodegradable Graffiti Remover Products
There are plenty of harsh solvents and chemicals on the market that can be used to remove graffiti. However, the downside to the vast majority of these products is that they have the potential to not only damage the existing surfaces they are removing graffiti from, but they are often toxic to the user or the environment as well.
On the other hand, Tagaway and Taginator are not only non-toxic and biodegradable, but they are cost-effective products that begin to break down graffiti on just about any surface in just minutes.
- Tagaway is ideal for use on smooth, non-porous surfaces like glass, metal, and plastic. It dissolves graffiti quickly without damaging the underlying paint coat or material. Simply spray Tagaway on the graffiti, let it sit for a few moments, then wipe it away with a clean cloth or rinse it off with water.
- Taginator is designed for porous surfaces such as brick, concrete, and stone. Its deep-penetrating formula breaks down paint and other graffiti materials. Apply it generously, allow it to dwell for about 15-30 minutes, and then use a pressure washer or scrub brush to remove the graffiti.
Pressure Washing
In addition to using Tagaway or Taginator, more stubborn or set in graffiti might require you to break out your pressure washer.
The first thing to consider when using a pressure washer to remove graffiti is that hot water pressure washing is much more effective at removing graffiti than using cold water. If you don’t have access to a hot-water machine, it might be a good idea to rent one from a local commercial pressure washer dealer to clear your graffiti.
Second, the amount of pressure you will want to use depends on the surface you are cleaning. For harder surfaces like brick, stone, concrete, or non-porous metals, it is okay to clean at higher pressures to help break away the paint. Softer surfaces like wood or stucco, on the other hand will require lower pressure, generally no higher than about 700 PSI, so as not to cause damage to the surface.
In either scenario, utilizing a nozzle with a wider spray angle, like a variable fan nozzle, is best in order to apply water pressure as evenly across the surface as possible.
Utilzing A Turbo Nozzle or Wet Sandblaster
If your graffiti still remains after using a graffiti remover and normal pressure washing techniques, you might need to break out some specialty tools.
Your first option is a turbo nozzle. It uses a special, 0° rotating tip that produces a powerful, concentrated stream of water that can quickly strip away graffiti from most surfaces. In addition to graffiti removal, turbo nozzles are a great tool to keep on hand for blasting caked on dirt, grime, rust, and other contaminants from your hard, unpainted surfaces.
Another effective tool for removing stubborn graffiti from rough and porous surfaces is a wet sandblaster. By combining high pressure water with an abrasive material (generally sand), wet sandblasters can quickly strip paint and ink from just about any porous, hard surface. Easy-to-use kits are available that attach directly to your existing hot or cold pressure washer and they create almost zero dust unlike a regular sandblaster. Plus, wet sandblasters are also useful for such tasks as stripping paint from vehicles and restoring the original look of weathered stone and brick.
Finally, it should be noted that unless you’re planning on repainting after removing the graffiti on your surfaces, neither of these accessories are recommended for use on surfaces that are already painted, stained, or otherwise treated as they will strip away the existing surface coat.
Graffiti removal doesn’t need to be a daunting or expensive task. By combining cost-effective, professional graffiti removers like Tagaway and Taginator with the versatility of your pressure washer you can easily tackle unwanted graffiti on just about any surface. Just make sure you are stocked up on the tools you need so you can clear graffiti quickly and efficiently when it first appears.