Contractors

STEP 1

If it’s larger graffiti on painted surfaces like walls and fences, although it may be possible to remove the graffiti using our products, it is usually far quicker and easier to match the color and paint it over. Discuss tools of the trade.

STEP 2 

If it’s smaller graffiti (perhaps on a painted surface) or if it’s on things that you can’t paint out, like ‘For Sale’ signs, road signs, glass, playground equipment, cars, caravans, equipment, powder coat etc., then use these two products Sensitive Surface Graffiti Remover (or Graffiti Safewipes) and Feltpen Fadeout.

STEP 3 

Most of the remaining graffiti is on concrete, bricks, block walls and stone. This is just as easily removed. Simply flood coat three times (at roughly 3 minute intervals) with Bare Brick, Stone and Masonry Graffiti Remover, wait another few minutes then rinse with a small pressure washer.

1. If graffiti is not coming off easily, you're doing it wrong! You may require a change of tact oruse of another product. We recommend that you call for technical advice and/or see the World’s Best Graffiti Removal catalog and product data sheets for more information.

2. If you can't remove a little bit of graffiti, then you're not going to remove a lot! TEST in small areas, before applying product to an entire job. This way you can determine if you’re on the right track first.

3. If you're working hard, you're doing it wrong! Forget the scrubbing, blasting and any other abrasive measures. Put simply, either your products are working or they’re not. Any problems can be taken care of with the right technique.

Professional graffiti removal is a skill learned over time, requiring specialized products and equipment. Don’t be afraid to charge accordingly. However, be mindful not to charge every client like it is your first and last job as graffiti will often reoccur.

• Good work that is reasonably charged will often result in a referral.

• Become a friend in the trade to everyone. Cost of products when using our system will not be more than 10% of the total, the balance being your time and labor.

• Although it may appear simpler to break jobs down into time and material, having a ball park rate in square footage is advantageous. Approx. $3.00 per sq. foot keep product costs in check. Double this for filled-in bubble writing. For Paint removal a rate of $6-$9 per square foot is not unreasonable. If you quote less on a job which has multiple layers of graffiti or painted over graffiti, add a caveat so that extra product needed can be added to total at the end.

• If you intend to charge per square foot you will need to incorporate a standard call out fee which may include the first several square feet (say 5-10sq ft. or 1 sq. yard). Your call out fee will vary with distance. We suggest approx. $90 within 5 miles of your base.

In order to calculate the total square feet, draw an imaginary box around each tag.

Multiply the height x width to calculate the square footage.

Where there are multiple tags, add the sq. footage of each box together to estimate the total price for the job.

On larger removal jobs, such as the one pictured here, we always recommend establishing a modus operandi by removing a few square feet perfectly, before embarking on large scale removals. 

• Second square yard ( or 10 sq. ft.) can be say $30 and subsequent sq.yards / feet $25. This way clients will know exactly how much to expectbefore you arrive, and avoid any possible unwanted arguments

•Remember that filled in bubble writing, murals and /or multiple tags ontop of each other or on previously sandblasted / soda blasted surfacescan require significantly more time and products. You may need to doubleyour sq. footage rate on these jobs.

• Reduce rates for color match and paint over may be needed

•Jobs on historic buildings with conservancy authorities involving waterreclamation and varying techniques may require up to 5x the time andbilling accordingly.

Permanent v/s Sacrificial Graffiti Coatings

Over the past 30 years we have seen many products and companies offering so called permanent protective coatings that promise to make cleaning graffiti easy. They all work for 2-3 years but problems such as de-lamination, peeling, cloudiness, glossiness, yellowing, and just making it more difficult to clean graffiti from have lead us to the following rules;

1) The best coating for paint is paint. Although it’s possible to remove larger graffiti from a painted surface, it is often far quicker and easier to simply color match and paint over.

2) Any coating you are thinking of specifying must be proven to work as intended, and have stood the test of time without behaving badly (which ultimately would disappoint your customer).

3) If for any reason in the future you need to remove this coating from a building, you must be able to do this quickly and inexpensively without the risk of damage to the building surface.

For graffiti protection on Natural Building surfaces offer World'sBest Graffiti Coating. $1.00 per square foot 'supplied & applied' isan excellent rate considering product costs are approximately 25 cents persquare foot.

This product offers long lastingprotection, leaves natural surfaces looking natural, and makes it veryeasy to remove graffiti with hot water alone or by using our Bare BrickStone & Masonry Remover.

If you are wanting tooffer permanent protection for your client, we suggest using 4G SurfaceGuard which is an impregnation rather than a film forming coating.

Designed for high value or high traffic mineral surfaces this product comes in two versions:

4GSurface Guard: Floors for pavers and concrete, and porous mineralsurfaces such as granite and limestone. Offers maximum stain andabrasion resistance without affecting slip resistance.

4G Surface Guard: Walls for all porous mineral surfaces. Offers maximum stain and graffiti resistance.

A rate of $1.50 per square foot 'supplied and applied' is typical for 4G Surface Guard.

Itis not uncommon to first seal with 4G Surface Guard and then applyWorld's Best Graffiti Coating over the top. This allows for the quickand easy removal of subsequent graffiti with hot water alone. We suggestusing this technique on historic buildings or high value substratessuch as limestone where clients main objective is to preserve thebuilding appearance and ease the burden of ongoing maintenancedramatically. See case study below for Los Angeles City Hall.

World’s Best Graffiti Removers include specialty products such as Heritage, Transgel, and Vanish. On any given job, one of our products can be your best friend.

• Sometimes conservancy agencies will be overseeing jobs ensuring no damage to historic or important buildings or environmentally sensitive areas such as near lakes and rivers. We can help advise on the most suitable ‘modus operandi’ for every job.

• MuralShield is designed for conservation, restoration, and preservation of fine art acrylic murals. It reinforces paint layers (consolidates), and provides UV protection and weather proofing.

• By using MuralShield in conjunction with World’s Best Graffiti Coating you have a highly maintainable, durable and vibrant mural.