The Challenge
Graffiti can suck the life out of a building. Not only can it ruin a carefully cultivated first impression, one piece of graffiti can be a magnet for other perpetrators – before long a building can be absolutely covered with indiscriminate scribbles. Not everyone is Banksy.
When a well-known transport office in London was attacked with graffiti during a protest, the owners knew that they needed to do something – so they called Ideal Response.
As shown by the pictures, the paint had been splattered all over the main entrance, covering the glass doors, the brickwork and the pavement outside. It looked awful and time was a factor, not just because of the importance of the building, but also because the most effective way to clean graffiti is to start the treatment within the first 24-48 hours.
When called, Ideal Response were on site the same day to begin the graffiti removal in London.
The Ideal solution
Once on site, our team of two began work immediately. After assessing the damage, it was clear that all of the graffiti was confined to the main entrance.
Once the nature of the graffiti was identified, it was decided that the best course of action would be to apply our graffiti removal gel, which can remove both oil and water-based paints. When this had been applied (a 2-3mm coat), it was left for several hours so that it could start to break down the paint.
Upon returning to the site it was noticed that some of the patches were proving to be more stubborn so this treatment was repeated to ensure that it was fully effective.
In order to protect the building from the next stage of cleaning, we applied out Natural Stone Sealer. These absorb into the stone, while leaving it breathable, in order to prevent any moisture becoming trapped within. Using this will also make cleaning in the future much easier, should there be another incident.
Once this was completed, we were able to employ our DOFF cleaning system – this is a steam-based cleaning system that uses high-pressure water to remove the loosened paint. This was achieved, in full, without any damage to the property.
The result
Sometimes it’s best to let the pictures speak for themselves. In just two days the main entrance to this well-known and important building was transformed completely. The graffiti removal in London was a complete success.