No matter where your commercial or industrial facility is located, graffiti can be a serious problem. This type of defacement is not only unsightly and damaging to the reputation of your business, it can also cause recurring incidents—because once graffiti appears on your property, vandals often come to view it as an easy target.
The first step in protecting your facility is to have the graffiti removed quickly and professionally, in order to prevent encouraging vandals. The process of graffiti removal can vary, depending on the type of exterior paint and the substrate of your building, as well as the material used in the graffiti. In some cases, the area can be painted over with a matching shade. Other instances may require pre-treatment such as sanding or blasting before the area can be repainted.
In addition to graffiti removal, you may want to talk with your commercial painting contractor about anti-graffiti coatings.
Graffiti prevention through professional painting
If your commercial or industrial facility is a frequent target for vandals, or is located in a high-risk area, you may benefit from an exterior application of anti-graffiti paint. These specialized types of coatings prevent aerosol spray paint from sticking to surfaces and allow fast, easy removal of graffiti.
The two primary types of anti-graffiti paint are sacrificial coatings and permanent coatings. They are both invisible to the naked eye when applied to a surface, making them ideal for both painted and natural substrate surfaces such as stone or concrete.
Sacrificial coatings are a type of clear-coat paint that is applied over the existing substrate. If the surface is vandalized, this coating can be “sacrificed,” or removed from the substrate with a high-pressure washer—along with the graffiti. The coating is then reapplied in order to keep protecting the surface.
As the name suggests, permanent coatings are not removed. Instead, they form a protective surface over the exterior paint or substrate that spray paint can’t bond to. Graffiti that is sprayed onto a permanent coating can be removed with a simple solvent that will not damage either the protective coating or the underlying surface.
