Do I Need a Professional to Remove Graffiti?
Depending on the location of your home or business, graffiti and vandalism can be an occasional nuisance or a constant battle. In either case, you are likely tired of having graffiti on the side of your building. So how can you get it off? Do you need specialty cleaning services to help remove the graffiti, or can you remove it yourself?
Although there are some situations where you might want to remove graffiti yourself, a professional will, in general, get the graffiti removed faster, more thoroughly, and with less collateral damage to your structure.
Automatically Contact a Professional in These Situations
There are some situations where it’s best to contact a professional to remove graffiti. These include situations where graffiti is on:
- A valuable surface
- A historic building
- An unstable surface
A valuable surface is any surface where damage to the paint could make a significant financial impact. If, for example, you have graffiti over a mural or custom façade, damage to that surface could lead to significant costs. Another example of a valuable surface is one with a custom paint color, which might be expensive to remix and/or repaint the entire house if it’s damaged.
Historic buildings have preservation rules, and casually attempting to remove graffiti might lead you to run afoul of them if you damage the paint on the historic surface. A graffiti removal company with expertise in restoration work can approach the challenge with knowledge that helps them avoid causing unnecessary damage to the property as they restore it.
Unstable surfaces are those that are in danger of wearing off or breaking down if you apply pressure to them. This can include cracking wood and some types of sandstone or other soft stone. A professional restoration company understands how to approach these vulnerable surfaces to avoid damaging them when removing graffiti.
In these cases, it’s best to leave the job to a professional.
Contact a Professional If You Don’t Know What Solvents to Use
Another big question is whether you can remove the graffiti with the solvent or solvents you plan to use. If you can’t look at the paint and know what type of solvent it will take to remove it, you should contact a professional. There are many different solvent options, from simple rubbing alcohol and gasoline to acetone and naphtha. Choosing the right solvent can make the work easy and reduce the risk of damage to your home or business.
There are many dedicated graffiti removal products which advertise the ability to remove graffiti from different surfaces without harming them. However, the accuracy of these claims is doubtful.
If you don’t know what solvents to use, you will likely end up buying several and testing them to try to remove the graffiti. Multiple test patches not only delay the process, but can also do significant damage to your surface as you try each one. Even if you start out trying each one on a small patch, the more you try, the more likely you will create a large, damaged area. Unless you have a good idea of where to start, it’s just best to work with a professional.
Contact a Professional If You Don’t Have Proper Safety Gear
Another situation where you want to contact a restoration professional is if you don’t have the proper safety gear to handle the graffiti solvents you think are necessary. Graffiti solvents can give off extensive toxic fumes. These fumes are significant in the can, but when you spread it on a wall, evaporation of the solvent can rapidly increase the emission of fumes. Even in a a well-ventilated area, it’s possible to get overwhelmed by solvent fumes if you spread the solvent over a large area. You might pass out suddenly and unexpectedly, especially if you have serious health conditions like heart disorders.
Don’t forget that it’s important to properly dispose of solvents. Just putting paint removers down the drain or adding them to trash can cause legal problems.
Contact a Professional If You’re Not Ready to Deal with Graffiti Right Away
Graffiti removal is more effective if you do it right away. This not only makes it easier to remove the paint, but it shows taggers that they don’t get much benefit from painting on your wall.
If graffiti removal is not something you can fit into your schedule immediately, it often makes sense to contact a professional who can get to it a lot faster.
Choose Cousino Restoration for Graffiti Removal
If you are looking for professional graffiti removal in Northwest Ohio or Southeast Michigan, contact Cousino Restoration and & Environmental. We’re a leading restoration company in the area and have over 45 years of experience. In addition, we offer 24/7 emergency response service. If you want us to come out and get started on graffiti removal immediately, we can be there shortly after receiving your call. We can help with graffiti on both residential and commercial properties.
With our experience, we know how to safely and effectively remove graffiti from almost any surface. We can work quickly and remove the graffiti in a fraction of the time it would take you. Plus, we not only know what solvent to use to remove graffiti, but how to properly dispose of used solvent and paint to help you avoid fines and other penalties.
To get help removing graffiti from your property, please contact Cousino Restoration & Environmental today.