Best way to remove graffiti?

Mtn. Project,

This topic is probably B.S to most of you. What is the best way to remove graffiti off rock? There's several crags where I live that have ALOT of graffiti on the routes and it absolutely drives me !@#$%^$ crazy!!!! My first thought was to get a propane torch and burn the crap off. While it'll leave soot/ash/whatever, rain can wash that off I'm assuming. Any advice or tips is appreciated! Just an avid climber wanting to clean up my areas.

Do not put a torch to the stone..... ever, please. The heat destroys the strength of the stone.

If your stone is sandstone, nothing you can do except to feather the edges of the ART with some rock colored paint to make it fade. We have been doing this at Stoney Point with good results.

I think that chemical paint strippers work on granite, but you need to catch that stuff and keep it from killing the plants around the base.

Good luck with your efforts

mountainproject.com/v/1st-f…

Taginator

Elephant Snot

Taginator. Not easy to get but worth getting.

Guy Keesee wrote:Do not put a torch to the stone..... ever, please. The heat destroys the strength of the stone. If your stone is sandstone, nothing you can do except to feather the edges of the ART with some rock colored paint to make it fade. We have been doing this at Stoney Point with good results. I think that chemical paint strippers on granite, but you need to catch that stuff and keep it from killing the plants around the base. Good luck with your efforts

Alright, I won't use a torch. It was just the first thing that came to mind, as I have no idea what would work best. The rock is all granite. What kind of paint stripping chemical you suggest?

And sorry buddy, it's not ART to me.

Mathias wrote:Taginator. Not easy to get but worth getting.

Cool, thanks man. I'll see if I can find some of that and elephant snot around town.

I had to order that Taginator online. The shipping is not cheap, but it works really well. Do a search for 'graffiti at Rotary Park'.

Mathias wrote:I had to order that Taginator online. The shipping is not cheap, but it works really well. Do a search for 'graffiti at Rotary Park'.

Or maybe just a search for 'taginator'?
taginator.com/wordpress/

I agree with Guy - water based rock colored paint is a reasonable approach, you can just spray it on with hand sprayers, it doesn't need a complete coverage either - just break up the graffiti. Part of this is not destroying the climbs - so there's some trade-off there.

Any semi-paste stripper will take off graffiti but oil base spray paint takes a little while and requires more work. Citru strip works and is eco friendly.Takes awhile longer to work than solvent based strippers. There are some soy based strippers as well. Dumont Chemicals makes several types of stripper that work. The taginator will require a pressure washer and water source, not the easiest to get to the base of a crag. If you need to scrub to remove the paint use a nylon or brass bristle brush as a steel wire brush will turn the rock black. Lacquer thinner works well also. Wear rubber gloves because regardless of the stuff you use it is all disgusting and burns skin.

Marc801 wrote: Or maybe just a search for 'taginator'? taginator.com/wordpress/

I was suggesting the search to see the before and after shots.

Best thing to use is the "tagger's face"

Just grab the back of the head/hair tightly with two hands, and rub the face back and forth across the painted area until paint is gone.
Some excess skin, and blood will be apparent but usually washes off with the first rain…

Cor wrote:Best thing to use is the "tagger's face" Just grab the back of the head/hair tightly with two hands, and rub the face back and forth across the painted area until paint is gone. Some excess skin, and blood will be apparent but usually washes off with the first rain…

I prefer this method. But, catching the little bastards in the act is next to impossible...

Thanks everyone for the insight! It's just a pet-peeve of mine to see graffiti on routes, especially when it's not in a crowded area!

Cor.... taggers have been caught at Stoney Point. I know of one who had his whole can of paint sprayed on his face....

havent see any of his ARTWORK in a while, so it must have worked...

Colin.... hint, if you really wish to catch, tageroulus nocturnals.... you need to prowl around during their favorite time of nite....about 10pm to 3 am.....

stay quiet, when you hear spraying, jump out and overwhelm. But be cautious, some of them, tageroulusurban nocturnals, roam city streets. Most are armed and because the ART is a boundary marker, they be ready to fight for the marker.

As ugly as it is, I wouldn't do a damn thing about it. The a-holes will only come back and tag the rock again. By removing it, you're only giving them a clean slate for more BS. Just climb and forget about it.

Not true.... at Stoney we are winning the war. There is much less than before......

but we have also posted photos about the big ass rattle snakes that live there....... with warnings, in like three languages.

Guy Keesee wrote:Not true.... at Stoney we are winning the war. There is much less than before...... but we have also posted photos about the big ass rattle snakes that live there....... with warnings, in like three languages.

Well that's good, but as long as there are aholes, its inevitable. They will adapt and therefore you will always have a stay a step ahead to stop them. I commend you for your efforts.

Medieval times you could use the head on a pole trick. Lol. Maybe you could make some fake death shrines out there. Fake photos, on a cross with empty spray paint cans at the base. Lol.

As suggested above, taginator or elephant snot. Elephant snot is more biodegradable, so I would suggest that. We have used it here in Durango on sandstone and it does a pretty good job. If the rock is granite, it's going to work even better. The sandstone here is porous and leaves shadows which only years of climbing will probably get rid of. It'll probably come right off granite or limestone.

Taking the problem on may not stop the offenders, but it does let them know that there are other people out there willing to stand up and teach them the error of their ways.

Chris Owen wrote:Taking the problem on may not stop the offenders, but it does let them know that there are other people out there willing to stand up and teach them the error of their ways.

Very true, but I'm willing to bet they don't care. What they really need is an ass kicking.