A question for any painter re:grafitti

cubix

Doing a bit of work for tidy towns and regularly come across white walls with grafitti which is nearly always a very vivid colour, so even with two or three coats of white emulsion it still shows through. IT will usually disapear after the fourth or fifth coat which is very time comsuming having to let each coat dry. Some of the smaller stuff is easier to sand off first then paint but looking for a better solution for the big ones. ITs a mix of marker/permenent marker and then the aerosols.
So was hoping someone could point me in the right direction so that maybe I could speed up the process. Has anyone used any type of paint that is used to cover the grafitti in one coat which dries quickly and then use normal paint on top of this. For the smaller ones any good chemicals i could use to paint on first then wipe off.
I have seen the council lads going around with some kind of sand blaster but would expect this is quite expensive

Thanks for any help.

cubix

From doing a little reading it seems that a stain blocker type of paint is a good place to start?

Wertz

Waste of time, paint and energy putting any kind of emulsion directly over inks.
Cover Stain by Zinsser or Pro-Block from Fleetwood/Sherwin-Williams, both oil based primers, is what you're after...take about 30 mins to dry.
There are also products like B-I-N primer sealer (also by Zinsser) that come in an aerosol...it's a clear stain killer that you spray on, wait 5 mins then apply your paint over; no more bleed through.


As a more permanent solution there are products available that you apply to a clean painted wall, that, when they are grafittied over, can then be powerwashed off (taking grafitti with it)...might be an idea. It's not a cheap option though.
Another thing to try is to paint walls that you're having problems with in black masonry paint...markers and spray tend not to show up on it as much and it's a much easier job to touch up...probably not feasible in a tidy towns setting though.

*cue loads of aul wans moaning about black being such a dreary colour*

cubix

Thanks for that, those stain blockers you mentioned sound like just the job will check it out;)

cubix

Forgot to ask would these products be available in the usual places or is it selected shops
Thanks

Wertz

You're in Dublin so any good paint store should have at least one brand of it. The Zinsser is the best IMO (I oughta be on comission from that company) so if you phone around first, one of the places is bound to have it...I know B&Q up our way carry it, as do most smaller places...the likes of Albany centres definitely will have it.

sparkfireman

theres things u can get in DIY shops called graffitti clean in an aerosol. It lifts it even from painted walls... we use it on our firestation, it does the job... if it happens in the same area over and over again u may need to paint over in as the graffitti remover thing will eventually wear away the paint or whatever underneath. it is safe with most things

Other option is when i was in esb we used to get stuff in a bucket that u pull out called graffitti wipes. (sorta like a baby wipe bucket effort!0 and we used that for metalwork etc. Brilliant! The things didnt even need recoating of paint! Not sure where to get them though!

Anyway thought this may help!

ATB

Joe

the GALL

re: council and sandblasting

I use to work for the company who was contracted by the council to remove grafitti around dublin afaik if a complaint was made by the public about grafitti the council had the budget to remove this but when they actually got around to doing it is another story
Try your councillor first espeacilly if they live in the area.