Graffiti Removal

Vandalism is a crime.

Building managers know well the disheartening feeling of finding graffiti on walls, waste receptacles, doors and windows. The question is repeatedly asked: don’t people have better things to do with their time than damage (or even destroy) other people’s property?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, juvenile vandalism significantly increased between the years 1987 and 1994. In 1987, there were about 375 reported incidents of vandalism for every 100,000 juvenile arrests. That number peaked at a record high of nearly 500 incidents per 100,000 arrests in 1994. Since 1994, the number of vandalism-related arrests decreased and then plateaued at close to 400 incidents per 100,000 arrests. In addition, there are thousands of vandalism cases that go unreported each year.

Vandalism is almost never a good thing. Why almost?

Despite the anguish graffiti causes building owners and managers, jan/san distributors are finding that graffiti removal can be a profitable service.

Barry Wood, president of Graffiti Control Systems, Hollywood, Calif., started out in 1993 as a distributor of janitorial supplies. However, specializing and focusing on graffiti removal opened up many new business opportunities for the company — so much so that he decided to change his business to focus solely on graffiti removal and prevention.

“When we started with the janitorial supply company, we found that we couldn’t buy the quantities of products that we needed in order to be competitive,” says Wood. “We found that a lot of our clients were having trouble with graffiti, so we told them to tell us whenever they had problems and we’d take care of it. Now we don’t sell many cleaning supplies at all, and we’ve transformed our business for full-time service.”

Distributors might not want to transform their companies as completely as Wood did, but they can still learn from the success of Graffiti Control Systems. Wood discovered new business possibilities as he became a resources for customers with vandalism problems. If distributors are willing, they too can learn about what graffiti-removal products work best, and they can pass on the value of those methods to their customers.

Graffiti Control Systems is now responsible for the maintenance and cleanup of the entire Orange County Transportation Department, as well as several large public buildings.

“We’re now the largest company in the nation for graffiti abatement,” says Wood.

Scott Williams, owner of Williams Graffiti, has a similar story. Originally a contractor for cleaning projects in Canada, his company focused on jobs that required powerwashers and sand-blasters.

“Just being in the mobile powerwash business, a lot of our customers were victims of vandalism and graffiti,” says Williams. “When they first started approaching us with questions about how to remove graffiti, we weren’t sure how to deal with it. We tried using wet-sand-blasting and soda-blasting (baking soda), but with those kinds of products you’re usually damaging the surface underneath the graffiti.”

Because he couldn’t find an adequate product, he had to turn graffiti customers away. But Williams knew that there was money to be made, and he continued to keep an eye out for possible solutions.

A mobile powerwasher from a manufacturer in Sweden finally provided the results he was looking for. “We found this product and it just changed everything,” says William. “Everything is water-based, but we don’t have to use excessive pressure. The most pressure we ever use on a surface is 2,000 pounds, but we usually need only about 1,100 pounds. Most other products use 2,600 to 3,000 pounds, which can damage the wall.”

Like Wood’s janitorial supply company, Williams’ contracting service now focuses completely on graffiti removal.

“Graffiti has really increased over the last five years,” says Williams of vandalism in Canada. “We have a similar climate to the United States, and it seems that we have the same kinds of people doing it. Oftentimes it’s kids who are using all kinds of paints. It especially damages a building when wood paint is used on concrete or concrete paint is used on wood, because the building can’t breathe.” Williams explains that when the walls of a building can’t breathe, they erode from the inside.

With the wide variety of products that claim to remove graffiti, another factor for distributors to consider is the environmental effect that a product has on its surroundings. Naomi Craft, marketing product manager for Motsenbocker’s Lift Off, San Diego, says that it’s vital for distributors to inform their customers about whether or not a product is potentially hazardous.

“It’s so important for a graffiti-removal product to be environmentally friendly,” says Craft. “There are products out there that dissolve paint. If those chemicals run off into drinking water or public areas, there can be terrible results. A better way is to find a product that breaks the molecular bonds between the paint and the surface of the building.”

Gregg Motsenbocker, president of Motsenbocker’s Lift Off, is the founder of the National Coalition of Graffiti Removal, a non-profit organization designed to promote progress in this area. After the 1992 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the coalition sponsored a city-wide cleanup of leftover graffiti without cost to its citizens.

Motsenbocker saw a need throughout the nation for cleaning professionals to unite in the fight against graffiti. He formed the group as a resource for both contractors and distributors to find out what is available in the way of new products and new strategies.

Technology in the jan/san industry has also helped distributors and contractors fight graffiti more effectively. Sometimes graffiti can be painted over, so it is necessary for the color to exactly match the previous shade of paint. Also, age and weathering need to be considered. Wood’s computers are used to get an exact match of color.

“We use a hand-held spectro-photometer that can take a color-reading of the surface. We can then load that reading into our computer and have an exact match. After the computer finishes the color-matching, we can just mix and match on site and cover the graffiti. The problem is that many contractors try to do color matching by eye, and then the measurements can be thrown off easily,” he explains.

Wood’s company has also developed solutions for removing graffiti on glass, a common occurrence in Los Angeles.

“Here in L.A., every other building seems to have initials or gang signs put in glass by some kid using ChromeEtch,” he says. According to Wood, ChromeEtch, similar to an oatmeal paste in consistency, is a popular product that is available at art supply stores. It sticks permanently to any glass surface and is very expensive to remove.

Usually, contractors in Los Angeles just give up and remove the glass, says Wood, but thanks to technology he has a better way to remove the “tags” or graffiti signatures.

“We use three steps with three different tools to polish away the graffiti. First, we use a fining machine to rough up the glass even more (like a glass sander). Then we use a polisher machine to smooth out the scratches that we just made. And finally, we use an edger to edge out the glass and make sure it’s strong,” says Wood. “What we’re basically doing is weakening the glass by getting rid of its outside layer, but we’re not weakening it enough that it will be damaged.”

Aside from New York, no other city in the United States seems to have as much graffiti as Los Angeles. Wood tells of long battles with the graffiti community in Los Angeles. “The vandals are getting more creative with what they’re doing,” he says. “Every time a manufacturer comes up with a new coating or method to prevent graffiti, the vandals try to come up with a new way of vandalizing.”

No matter where a distributor is located — Los Angeles, Atlanta or even Canada — graffiti removal is a market that distributors in the jan/san industry should be aware of. “The best thing you can do for your customers is to be available,” says Williams. “They have to know that they can call and that they can get a hold of you. They’ll have lots of questions about what products are best for each situation, and if you can help them you’ll be an invaluable resource.”

When asked the most crucial characteristic for a graffiti-removal contractor, Williams says patience is the greatest virtue. “It may sound strange, but you have to have a gentle touch. It usually takes time to get rid of graffiti. You can’t just go in there and pound away at it,” he explains.