Graffiti needs to be dealt with!

historic building with graffiti Graffiti costs WA property owners, businesses and rate payers approximately $30 million dollars each year in direct removal and prevention costs. However, the true cost of Graffiti is much higher. There are a number of indirect costs such as reduced property values, environmental damage and a perceived lack of security and safety in areas where graffiti is prevalent.

Stopping Graffiti completely is almost impossible to achieve without a holistic approach and increased deterrents for offenders. The WA government recently announced harsher penalties of up to 2 years’ jail and a $24,000 fine. There are also fines of up to $6000 for possession of graffiti tools with intent to vandalise or damage property, and a mandatory clean up order accompanying any conviction. There is also legislation that prevents the sale of spray paint and scraping tools such as blades to minors. These measures are a step in the right direction but they won’t significantly reduce graffiti because a large proportion of offenders are juveniles. Even if caught and convicted they are unlikely to receive anywhere near the maximum penalties.

For information on Mr Blastit’s Graffiti Removal Service click here

or call us on 0419 350 332

graffiti brick building graffiti removal brick wall graffiti on building

As a property owner there are a number of things that you can do to discourage graffiti:

Remove Graffiti ASAP

Graffiti ‘artists’ want their work to be seen. Whether they are placing a tag, or painting a mural they want other people to see it. If you [clickandtweet handle=”@mrblastit” hashtag=”#graffitiremoval #perthgraffitiremoval #mrblastit #graffiti #tagging #tagremoval #paint #perth #highpressurecleaningperth” related=”” layout=”” position=””]get the graffiti removed straight away[/clickandtweet], you deny them that satisfaction and they will be inclined to look for some other location where their work can be more permanent.

Increase Security to Keep Graffiti Offenders Out

Often this is difficult to achieve particularly on fences, walls and shop fronts that are adjacent to public space. Unfortunately, these are also the areas that are most likely to get attacked. Private security patrols are one option and these can be reasonably cost effective if you share costs with other property owners in the area. It also has the added benefit of deterring other would be offenders such as thieves and vandals. If this is not feasible something as simple as improved lighting may help to deter offenders from a particular site.

Apply an Anti-Graffiti Coating

There are two categories of anti-graffiti coatings available in the market.

Permanent Anti-Graffiti Coatings

As the name suggests these are permanent coatings applied to a surface so that it is easier to remove graffiti when you do get attacked. Many of these types of coatings also prevent graffiti from adhering to the coating. This is an instant deterrent as the offender will not be able to create the ‘art’ they intended and try elsewhere. The downside is that these coatings do not last forever. After 5-10 years of exposure to the elements they will begin to turn milky and need to be stripped off and reapplied. The problem is that because they are designed to be impervious to anything used for graffiti and the chemicals used to remove graffiti they are next to impossible to strip off.
Sacrificial Anti-Graffiti Coatings

Sacrificial coatings are designed to provide a temporary barrier that prevents the graffiti from contacting the wall. A graffiti removal contractor will strip away the coating and the graffiti will come with it. The majority of sacrificial coatings have properties similar to wax and as such will reduce adherence of paint and other graffiti products to an extent. These can also be removed without chemicals as a hot water will soften the coating and it can therefore easily be stripped off with a hot water pressure cleaner. The stripped graffiti and coatings can be physically removed from the site as sheets of solid material and disposed of appropriately. As such sacrificial anti-graffiti coatings are the environmentally friendly option. After removing the graffiti a new coating will need to be applied to the cleaned surfaces.