Graffiti Removal

[the_GUNN_man]

I had a cutomer call me and ask if I could remove graffiti from the back of her house. When I got there it was different then expected. The graffiti had been written on the house last fall. She bought some graffiti removal from the local hardware store and had her kids use it to get the paint off. She did that last fall. When I get there all I see is huge smears all over the back of the house where the paint was rubbed off. It is really big areas. It is vinyl siding and is a lighter blue. Here is the problem. I tried about every chemical I had trying to see what would work. Nothing dented it. I told her nothing is working. To reside the whole back side of her house she was quoted $6,000. Her and the insurance company are really hoping that I can clean it. She is selling the house and doesn't want to have to delay selling it to put on new siding. After I tried removing this stuff I asked her exactly what it was she used to remove the paint. The area where the graffiti was is now blackish and shiny. I went to the store and looked at the can of stuff she used. Right on the can it says DO NOT use on plastic, VINYL, or synthetic materials. I am thinking that the graffiti remover has pemanetly damaged the siding. The shiny look to it is just like when you get wood selaer on the house. We all know how hard that can be to remove and that is if you catch it right away. This has sat like this all winter. I am told her I don't think it will come off. I think that graffiti remover had actually burned the vinyl siding. The paint is gone but the graffiti remover has left behind streaks. Anyone have any thought to this? I figure that the can says do not use on vinyl for a reason. That is because it probably burns the siding. I know she should have read the can but I am not going to lecture her. The insurance is paying me for this so she is not concerned with how much time I am spending on this.

 

[john orr]

Steve,

I think you can best serve your customer by finding her a less expensive siding contractor to sub-contract. Maybe assist them in the installation so that you can "oversee" the project. I think that you have put in too much time/effort to be left out of the $$ loop. The customer obviously trusts you, and the siding sounds like it is toast. (Though you might want to call the mfg of the chem to get their opinion. Have them fax it to you and show it to the customer/ins agent.)

 

[Mike Hughes]

I think the above is a great idea.

The only other thing you could do is x-jet the whole back of the house with the grafitti remover, then scrub, and rinse..............then it should all be one uniform color!
[2022]

 

[Gwas]

Remember vinyl is pre-colored. If you weaken the pigment you are f__ked !!!!! Try painting it ?????

 

[the_GUNN_man]

We turned up the heat full blast on the siding and it got it close back to the way it was. Heat seemed to be the only thing that was working. She said it was good enough and happy with it. There was also paint along the pools edge. It was on the vinyl trim around the top. There was also paint on the diving board. Mike, that degreaser you gave me is awesome. Used a scotch brite pad with about 30 seconds of dwell time and it took it right off. I showed her and told her that if she would have called and had us do the house before she used that graffiti remover the house would have turned out great.