If your business is constantly getting tagged with graffiti, it can be a frustrating problem that cost a lot of money to clean-up over and over again. At TerraCast Products, we create planters, receptacles and other items that are virtually resistant to graffiti. Instead of calling out a professional to remove the mess, you can remove graffiti from most of our products using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and a little elbow grease.
Since we don’t make buildings, doorways, or windows, there are still plenty of surfaces on your business that remain susceptible to graffiti. And so, after we go over the most common problems caused by graffiti, we are going to detail some of things you can do to prevent graffiti on your businesses.
3 Common Problems Caused by Graffiti
While none of us would mind getting tagged by the famous Banksy, that’s not usually the case. Most of the time graffiti consists of illegible scribbles by no-name artists, leading to the following issues for businesses big and small.
#1. Spending Money to Clean It Up
Your building, planters, or doorway gets plastered with tacky graffiti – now what? You have to clean it up, and it’s not always cheap to do so.
Every year, graffiti vandals cost the public millions of dollars. In Seattle alone, Seattle Public Utilities spent around $1 million cleaning up graffiti in the year 2009. The city isn’t tasked with removing all graffiti. If it’s on private property it becomes your burden to remove it, and as quickly as possible. The worst part is that oftentimes you remove it only to see similar squiggles and tags reappear.
#2. Damage to Certain Materials
While some materials are fairly easy to clean graffiti off of by simply adding a new layer of paint or using a power washer, other surfaces can become badly damaged. For instance, porous materials like brick walls don’t do well under the pressure of a power washer and readily absorb colors from spray paint. This makes it incredibly tricky to remove tags without damaging the outer protective layer of brickwork.
#3. Makes Your Business Look Bad
A business covered in graffiti can be off-putting to potential customers or partners who visit your facility. It may appear that you don’t care about appearances or give off the vibe that you are located in a not-so-safe neighborhood. None of which are good for your overall image. That’s why it’s so important to remove graffiti as quickly as possible, but that brings us back to number one on this list – the sky-high cost of doing so.
5 Ways to Prevent Graffiti on Your Business
#1. Install Automatic Lights
Add automatic lights all around the perimeter of your building, especially in areas prone to vandalism. Lights that automatically turn on when motion is detected can help deter vandals from messing with your property. Graffiti artists like to work under the cover of dark – that’s why they strike late at night.
Shop our complete line of long-lasting commercial light fixtures – we carry everything from tree ring lights to lampposts.
#2. Put Up Signs
Put up signs warning vandals that 24-hour cameras are recording their every move and if caught they will be prosecuted. There are plenty of other places they can take that spray paint and make their mark – the more risk involved in tagging your property, the more likely they are to go elsewhere.
#3. Add Anti-Graffiti Coatings
If your business keeps getting hit with graffiti, you might want to consider adding an anti-graffiti coating to the outside of your building. These products create a clear barrier over the surface that prevents graffiti from bonding and sticking in place. This makes it so much easier to remove graffiti.
The coating is made from a clear polymer that must be reapplied after each attack to repel future vandalism. For an extra cost, there are more permanent paints available that provide a protective layer that does not have to be reapplied each time vandals strike.
#4. Add Barriers
There are several different ways you can add barriers to prevent graffiti, it largely depends on where the graffiti is located and how your building is set up. If graffiti keeps showing up on the side of a building, consider adding a wooden terrace with vines weaving up it – this takes away the vandal’s canvas while adding a beautiful green addition to your building.
#5. Use TerraCast Lampposts, Planters, Trashcans & Other Accessories
Our specialized resin-based products are highly resistant to graffiti and other stains because they are non-porous and non-hydroscopic. We welcome you to enjoy the benefits of being able to wipe away graffiti using cleaning products that you can buy at your local store. Not to mention, our products are made to last a long time! There’s a reason our planters and other products are used in some of the busiest locations in the US, including Times Square in New York City. Learn more
Quick Tips to Remove Graffiti
There are certain surfaces that graffiti is easier to remove from, such as glass or wood. Removing graffiti from glass is best done using a razor blade and glass cleaner. If paint gets on metal surfaces, you can wipe it off using a common paint thinner and steel wool or sandpaper. For graffiti on wood, try using mineral spirits.