How to Remove Graffiti Spray Paint from Brick and Mortar Using a Green Graffiti Remover
Brick is a durable and attractive building material that is widely used on commercial and residential buildings. It has many color and finishes. Rough or scored brick tends to be more porous and is more challenging to remove graffiti from. Smoother or glazed brick tends to be easier to remove graffiti from. Bricks that have been exposed to graffiti and acid washed many times tend to be the hardest to clean graffiti from as the repeated acid washing etches away the top, outer layer of the brick exposing the soft, spongy inner brick. This inner brick soaks up water and graffiti more aggressively. Brick in this condition should often be resealed.
Many chemical techniques for graffiti removal from brick fail to remove all of the graffiti spray paint pigment. Even a slight amount of spray paint which remains bonded to the brick or mortar can be visible to the naked eye, especially if the brick is a lighter or more uniform color. Blond and yellow bricks tend to be the most challenging for graffiti removal. When graffiti spray paint remains after a partially successful graffiti removal, it is referred to as graffiti ghosting or graffiti shadow.
Most chemical graffiti removal techniques require a pressure washing following the application of the chemical graffiti remover. This is an important step which rinses chemical graffiti remover and any dissolved or broken spray paint from the brick substrate. Care must be taken to reduce the PSI of the pressure washer so that the intense pressure does not damage the brick surface by etching away the top layer of stone. Etching damage can easily be caused by a zero-degree red nozzle. To avoid this, it is recommended to use a wide, fan-tip pressure washing nozzle such as a green 25 degree nozzle. The wide fan tip diffuses the pressure and reduces the PSI on the limestone. This reduced pressure decreases likelihood of causing permanent etching damage to limestone.
Abrasion is another technique for removing graffiti spray paint from limestone. Typical abrasive graffiti removal techniques include soda-blasting and sand-blasting. Both should be avoided as they rarely remove the graffiti and can cause irreversible and permanent etching damage. Sand blasting, bead blasting, soda blasting, dry ice blasting, and shot blasting are all variations of abrasive blasting. These techniques propel the blasting media at high pressure against the surface. They remove some of the paint but also remove some of the brick. The more paint that is removed, the more brick is removed with it. The permanent damage caused by soda blasting is often visible on brick walls where the surface has been eroded away. Often the etch damage closely matches the graffiti tag, thus making the graffiti tag permanent. Best to avoid this method of graffiti removal.
Many chemical techniques for graffiti removal from brick fail to remove all of the graffiti spray paint pigment. Even a slight amount of spray paint which remains bonded to the brick or mortar can be visible to the naked eye, especially if the brick is a lighter or more uniform color. Blond and yellow bricks tend to be the most challenging for graffiti removal. When graffiti spray paint remains after a partially successful graffiti removal, it is referred to as graffiti ghosting or graffiti shadow.
Most chemical graffiti removal techniques require a pressure washing following the application of the chemical graffiti remover. This is an important step which rinses chemical graffiti remover and any dissolved or broken spray paint from the brick substrate. Care must be taken to reduce the PSI of the pressure washer so that the intense pressure does not damage the brick surface by etching away the top layer of stone. Etching damage can easily be caused by a zero-degree red nozzle. To avoid this, it is recommended to use a wide, fan-tip pressure washing nozzle such as a green 25 degree nozzle. The wide fan tip diffuses the pressure and reduces the PSI on the limestone. This reduced pressure decreases likelihood of causing permanent etching damage to limestone.
Abrasion is another technique for removing graffiti spray paint from limestone. Typical abrasive graffiti removal techniques include soda-blasting and sand-blasting. Both should be avoided as they rarely remove the graffiti and can cause irreversible and permanent etching damage. Sand blasting, bead blasting, soda blasting, dry ice blasting, and shot blasting are all variations of abrasive blasting. These techniques propel the blasting media at high pressure against the surface. They remove some of the paint but also remove some of the brick. The more paint that is removed, the more brick is removed with it. The permanent damage caused by soda blasting is often visible on brick walls where the surface has been eroded away. Often the etch damage closely matches the graffiti tag, thus making the graffiti tag permanent. Best to avoid this method of graffiti removal.
