Whether it has been spray painted onto coated or uncoated metal surfaces, graffiti vandalism is an eye sore and needs to be cleaned quickly.

Metal surfaces may not be as commonly vandalised as stonework, brick work and masonry surfaces but there are still plenty or locations where you will have no doubt seen graffiti vandalism strike in Glasgow including:

Because metal is non-porous, it is easier to clean than brickwork or wood. The first thing you need to find out is whether the metal is coated , uncoated or galvanised.

Coated Metals

Powder coated metals and factory painted metals have to be cleaned carefully to ensure that you do not damage the protective layer. Metal coatings are applied to protect the metal from weathering corrosion and rust. If you try to use a pressure washer or scrub clean the graffiti paint from a coated metal surface, you run the risk of scratching and revealing the base metal to the elements – this will result in far worse problems in the future.

Uncoated Metals

Chrome and anodized metal surfaces can be sensitive to pH changes and graffiti paint can cause the surface to change colour. Cleaning agents that have a high alkaline or acid base level can further damage and discolour the surface.

Galvanised Metals

Galvanised metals use a coating of an additional layer to protect the primary metal from rusting. The outer layer is usually quite thin and most galvanising layers are made from zinc. Galvanised metals are cheaper than stainless steel so are actually quite common. If you use a pressure washer to try and remove the graffiti paint, you run the risk of stripping away the galvanised zinc layer and cause the metal to rust over time.

How to remove graffiti from painted metal safely

At Balmore, we have always invested heavily in the latest in cleaning technologies. And for cleaning graffiti from metal, we have two completely different solutions for graffiti removal that can be called upon based on your unique situation.

Dry Ice Graffiti Removal

This non-waste cleaning method can be used in many different industries across the UK and uses 3mm carbon dioxide dry ice pellets to clean graffiti paint. The dry ice pellets return to a gas state upon impact with the cleaning surface, and leave no residue. This offers an invaluable benefit for cleaning services that need to contain any pollutant excess that is removed from the source material and also in the environments that the system can be used in.