Removing spray paint from "blue brick"

[cbdeja]

Some grafitti has been spayed on a nearby wall overnight and I'd like to hasten its removal.

It's constructed of "blue brick" which it fairly smooth and I'm told is extremely hard.

I believe that a problem with applying paint stripper to brickwork is that it can be absorbed (together with the paint) into the bricks and makes matters worse.

Is blue brick porous in this way or can I apply whatever I like with confidence?

This happened a couple of years ago and it took about 6 months for the grafitti to disppear through natural weathering.

It's actually a railway wall and so not strictly my responsability though it does reflect badly on my property. The road is faily busy and I don't really want the humiliation of scrubbing away at it for ages while watched by passers by. So if there is something I can slap on or spay on in a couple of minutes that would be great. I don't expect instant removal, but something that would get rid of it in weeks instead of months would be a great help.

Any suggestions?

[Lobster]

Conventional paint stripper is unlikely to be effective anyway for this type of paint

I would have thought that blue brick is less porous than common brick - ie, less of a problem here; but someone else may know better?

For a simple spray, try

(or ) (have never used it myself so can't comment on efficacy).

If you're really desperate and are feeling flush, hire this kit!:

or

David

[Aidan]

Are you talking of engineering bricks?

A pressure washer should shift it. I think specialist grafitti removal Co.s use them with some means of entraining an abrasive in the water jet. Just blast it with water. The paint probably won't have adhered very well.

[Lobster]

I think you'd be very lucky if this worked, but worth a go if you've got a washer to hand. Paint is still fresh, which will help.

BTW, sorry the deeplink to the HSS site in my last post didn't work: put "graffiti" in the HSS search box and it comes up with three possible (non-cheap!) methods.

David

[Hugh]

Not a d-i-y answer, but have you tried your local council? I had graffiti over the side of a house that I rent out (no, it wasn't disgruntled tenants!), a call to the council and it was removed promptly, and quite expertly too. Free of charge as well, although I dare say some council might charge.

[Aidan]

Good point, which reminds me. If it's a railway wall, try the railway. They greatly dislike having stuff painted, stuck or fixed to their property and may get around to shifting it. They'd probably disapprove of your attacking the wall with paint strippers or pressure washers, if they found out. Might be quickest to DIY rather than await their efforts though.

[cbdeja]

Unfortunately the local council will only remove graffiti from council-owned premises.

My impression of Railtrack (or whatever they became) is that they couldn't care less. There a couple of places in the area where dumped rubbish has been left to accumulate on their side of railway fences, and it's been like that for years. They would probably dislike signs and carriages painted but I doubt they would be prepared to pay for removal on a wall which is comparatively unimportant to them. I also doubt they would care if someone cleaned it of for them.

[Rob Morley]

Blowlamp?

[Matt]

....on the offenders faces.

It's not a particularly good idea to use a blowlamp on brick or concrete as it's quite easy to blow a chunk out of the surface.

[Rob Morley]

Concrete doesn't like to be heated, I wouldn't have thought that hard bricks would mind too much.

[dean]

How about sanding/grinding it away with a power sander or angle grinder with masonary disk in it?

[Rob Morley]

How about getting sued for vandalising a railway bridge?

[dean]

Well don't get caught!

[Andy]

Try soaking the bricks with a good deal of water before applying the paint stipper. This makes them unlikely to soak up an stripper. This is the technique recommended when applying brick acid to bricks.

Andy.