Case study: Graffiti Removal for Heritage Listed Site

The Customer, Situation and Need

GJK has delivered a range of services to this major university customer since 2015, across its main campus and five satellite campuses. We provide cleaning, waste and periodical services including graffiti removal, grounds, pest/hygiene and maintenance services.
One of the customer’s prized buildings experienced graffiti tagging vandalism across the front of its façade in 2017. This building is heritage-listed and built in the gothic-revival style.  It is classified by the National Trust and designated a ‘notable building’ in the Melbourne City Council planning scheme.

Desired Outcome

It was vital to the university customer to remove the graffiti and restore the building substrate to its former glory and protect the important historic asset. They also needed the graffiti removed quickly as it was detrimental to the building’s aesthetic and customer brand.

While GJK provides general graffiti removal services for the customer, restoring this historic facade needed specialist work; the substrate of the vandalised area was a combination of sandstone and limestone and was highly porous, thus needing great care, experience and a delicate removal process to protect the surface.

GJK Solution

GJK has expert knowledge in removing graffiti from a wide range of building surfaces, including historic buildings that need correct specialist cleaning solutions and a delicate removal process.

After a spot test of water spray and a clean cloth, and then a removal agent, our operator determined a more specialist approach was needed to remove the graffiti on the historic building.

Following a test to determine its efficacy, the operator applied a customised poultice to the affected areas, then covered and secured it to draw out the contaminant. GJK formulated the poultice after examining the type of graffiti and the surface. It was reapplied several times to the affected areas, to draw out the paint from the pours, without damaging the wall.

Evidence

GJK’s specialist approach was successful, and the graffiti was fully removed from the wall surface, without any shadowing remaining. Our operator restored the façade to its original state, with no damage to the delicate wall substrate.

GJK’s customer was delighted with the result, and our quick and effective approach, commenting:

“There is only one word to describe the service that Carla and the GJK restoration team provide: amazing! I’ve been in the industry for 15+ years and have never come across a team so proficient in their area of expertise and that operates with such honesty and integrity. Restorations on heritage sites are problematic at the best of times, however GJK make the process easy and always produce amazing results.  Whether it’s difficult graffiti or etched sandstone, once the GJK team have been through it’s like new.  I have absolute trust in the work that the GJK restoration team provides and would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending.”

About GJK Graffiti Removal from Historical sites

Due to their age and the condition of their structure, cleaning graffiti from historic buildings takes great care and a lot of experience to complete the work without causing damage.

GJK has been providing specialist graffiti removal services for over 20 years, reliably removing graffiti from masonry and porous surfaces including, sandstone, bluestone, limestone, brick, cement, render and concrete. Our operators are trained in removing graffiti from assets of all ages and protecting the integrity of the building façade.

GJK uses environmentally responsible practices to remove or reduce chemical dependency in graffiti removal.