Graffiti removal

Graffiti has long been a part of the social fabric in urban society. Despite the occasional pieces which may be deemed as street art, most instances of graffiti are often simplistic tags which offer disputed aesthetic benefits. Therefore, most governments have seen graffiti as detrimental, and have outlawed the practice. However, due to most instances of graffiti occurring in public spaces, local governments are responsible for graffiti removal in order to maintain the beautification of their local shire, council or city.

Governments see graffiti as a negative externality because it largely inhibits or detracts from the beautification of a local community. This can often stigmatise a neighbourhood or community through being labelled as a low socio-economic area. Indeed, this converts to suppressed housing prices and has strong correlations with local crime and gang activities. Considering the great cost graffiti incurs on local communities, governments take the burden of the negative externality, through removal. Due to the nature of graffiti, it is near impossible to eliminate, despite changes to legislation to increase the fine for committing such offences.

Governments take different approaches to graffiti removal, often depending on their resources. These approaches have been developed and shifted due to larger movements within the cleaning industry, costs of supplies and the end results of removals.

This method involves painting over the graffiti, so that it can no longer be seen. This is considered a low costs method and has historically been used widely by governments. However, over time the negative effects of this removal method begin to surface. Although effective for already painted walls, this removal option often leads to poor results on other surfaces, as it appears out of place and develops a "patchwork effect" on the surface. Furthermore, if this method is used regularly on the same wall or surface, the paint begins to peel, leading to the method being an ineffective long term strategy for graffiti removal.

This method actually removes the graffiti in earnest. These are cleaning products with active chemicals which remove the graffiti from the surface. These methods are largely effective, however, with poor application of the chemical, this approach has been found to damage the surface, especially painted surfaces. In these cases the paint along with the graffiti is stripped, leading to a poor result. In addition, the increasing prevalence of environmental sustainability makes this method an increasingly outdated method of removal.

There are four controllable factors that should be understood when removing graffiti. Time – The longer the contact time the deeper the graffiti remover will penetrate. The more sensitive the surface the shorter the time the graffiti product is on the surface. Temperature – Warmer weather speeds up the rate in which the graffiti remover products operate. Agitation – When graffiti removal products are applied by means of hard bristled brushes or scourers, it assists in breaking the bond between the graffiti and the surface. NOTE: be careful on sensitive surfaces, otherwise the underlying surface maybe damaged. Chemical – Use the right chemical for the task at hand. To compensate for any reduction in one of these for variables increase one of the other variables i.e. Should the temperature be cold, increase the contact time between the graffiti and the graffiti remover, alternatively you could increase the temperature, by using a hot water pressure washing system.

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Wikipedia