A three month old exterior mural depicting the history of the historic Music Box movie theater located in the 3700 block of Southport Avenue was hit by a graffiti attack.  The mural, painted on stucco, had been sealed with a clear coat varnish.  However, the varnish was unable to protect the mural and the mural, which took over 40 hours to paint, is now damaged beyond repair.

Murals play an important role as street art and to beautify the urban street environment.  They often can reduce the frequency of graffiti tagging on a particular wall or commercial corridor.  However, after completion, murals should be coating with an anti-graffiti clear coating.  This step is essential to protect the mural against graffiti attack.  Additionally, Clean City Pro Yellow Label or Clean City Pro Green label can be used to attempt to remove the spray paint graffiti tag without damaging the underlying mural surface.  A clear coating will help to prevent the graffiti remover from removing the mural paint.

Two individuals are in custody in Essex, Vermont following a graffiti attack in which a car was spray painted with a series of homophobic slurs and obscene images. 

5 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Cars.

Step 1: Apply Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover.  
Step 2: Allow short dwell time of 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Step 3: Swirl gently with soft rag, paper towel, or non-scratch souring pad sponge.
Step 4: Wipe surface clean with dry, absorbent rag.  
Step 5: For the best results, rinse with water or wipe down with wet rag.
Repeat as necessary.

Notes: Work in small sections at a time.  This allows you to fully complete one section before moving on.  Better control or drips, better control over dwell time and better results.

Multiple graffiti tags were reported in Racine, Wisconsin on playground equipment in a children's playground.   The graffiti tags included racial slurs and were spray painted on metal benches, on plastic slides, on concrete walls, on metal plaques and on two murals.

To remove graffiti tags from playground equipment, Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is recommended.  Green label can also be used for metal benches and metal plaques.  This medium strength graffiti remover is designed to remove spray paint but is more gentle on substrates.  A nylon brush is also recommended to remove paint pigment from the fake grain.  Please click here for more detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from a garage door.

To remover graffiti from a brick wall, Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Heavy Duty Graffiti Remover is recommended.  Apply graffiti remover to brick surface making sure to cover all parts of the graffiti tag.  Allow for a dwell time of between 5 and 30 minutes depending on saturation of the graffiti spray paint, porousness of the brick, and ambient temperature.  Scrub using wire or nylon brush to get paint chunks moving and to allow graffiti remover to come into contact with deep in the pores of the brick and mortar.  Pressure wash to remove all graffiti and product.  Use fan tip to avoid damaging brick and mortar.  Repeat if necessary to remove any residual graffiti shadow.  Please click here for more detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from a brick wall.

A collection of Historic stone buildings built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's can be found in the Saguaro National Park and other Tucson, Arizona parks including the Tucson Mountain Park.  Extensive graffiti damage caused by spray paint was reported on both the interior and exterior of the historic stone building located in the Tucson Mountain Park. 

Graffiti vandalism on state and national parks is particularly offensive.  State and national parks are a shared American treasure and for vandals to deface them is offensive.  Additionally, graffiti removal from historic structures and natural stone outcroppings in state and national parks is challenging due to delicate surfaces and a strong desire to cause no additional damage.  Lastly, water often plays an important role in graffiti abatement and can be difficult to source in along the trails in park locations.

Clean City Blue Label Gel for Concrete and Brick and SoSafe Blue Label Gel are recommended for graffiti removal from stone surfaces in state and national parks.  Apply graffiti remover to the graffiti tag, allow dwell time, scrub with non-scratch nylon bristle brush, blot with absorbent rag, and rinse with water.  For more detailed instructions, for how to remove graffiti from stone surfaces, please refer to www.CleanCityPro.com

​For more information, check out our Best Practices in Graffiti Removal page, our Graffiti Removal Selection page or our Tips and Techniques for Graffiti Removal page.

Three graffiti tags were reported in Evanston, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.  The graffiti tags were spray painted on a garage door, a brick wall, and plastic garbage dumpster.  The graffiti tags included a six-pointed star, a swastika, and pitchforks and is likely gang related graffiti.

To remove graffiti tags from a garage door, Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover is recommended.  This medium strength graffiti remover is designed to remove spray paint but is more gentle on painted substrates.  A nylon brush is also recommended to remove paint pigment from the fake grain.  Take care not to scrub garage doors as the factory OEM finish is very thin and can easily be scrubbed through.  Please click here for more detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from a garage door.

To remover graffiti from a brick wall, Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Heavy Duty Graffiti Remover is recommended.  Apply graffiti remover to brick surface making sure to cover all parts of the graffiti tag.  Allow for a dwell time of between 5 and 30 minutes depending on saturation of the graffiti spray paint, porousness of the brick, and ambient temperature.  Scrub using wire or nylon brush to get paint chunks moving and to allow graffiti remover to come into contact with deep in the pores of the brick and mortar.  Pressure wash to remove all graffiti and product.  Use fan tip to avoid damaging brick and mortar.  Repeat if necessary to remove any residual graffiti shadow.  Please click here for more detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from a brick wall.

To remove graffiti from a plastic garbage toter or dumpster, spray Clean City Pro Green label medium duty graffiti remover onto tag.  Wait 10 to 30 seconds.  Swirl lightly with scouring pad.  When all paint is butter and loose, wipe with dry absorbent rag or paper towel.  Rinse with water to remove all graffiti paint residue and any remaining product.  Please click here for more detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from a garbage dumpster or toter.

On the night before a campus-wide Unity Day Celebration, three vandals in masks broke into the campus to spray paint offensive graffiti on the historic school building walls.    A $1,000 reward has been offered for information leading the arrest of the vandals.  The school and law enforcement are taking this vandalism case very seriously.

The best practice for removing spray paint graffiti from concrete walls is to apply Clean City Pro Blue Label Graffiti Remover, SoSafe Blue Gel Graffiti Remover, or MC 850 Sprayable Gel Graffiti Remover.  Allow for a moderate dwell time.  Pressure wash with hot water, slow movements, and a fan tip nozzle.  Repeat if necessary to remove any graffiti shadow.  Detailed tips and techniques on how best to remove graffiti from concrete.

The concrete entryway in front of the Parkminster United Church in Waterloo, Ontario was hit with offensive graffiti.  The congregation decided to turn this act of vandalism into an act of community building and a reaffirmation of their inclusiveness.  They painted a colorful mural over the graffiti tag.

Another option would have been to remove the graffiti tag from concrete using Clean City Pro Blue Label Graffiti Remover or SoSafe Blue Gel Graffiti Remover which are ideal for graffiti spray paint removal from concrete and brick surfaces.  More detailed instructions for how to remove graffiti from concrete at /how-to-remove-graffiti-from-concrete.html.

Powerfully offensive racist graffiti vandalized Eastern Michigan University three times, in proximity to a monument to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  The racist graffiti caused outrage and sparked protests.  A 29-year old former student was arrested for the graffiti attack.  There was shock and surprise when the vandal of the anti-black hate vandalism was himself a black man.  The FBI, state law enforcement, and campus police deserve praise for their efforts to identify  and arrest the vandal.  Over 1,000 hours were devoted to the investigation.  Additional lighting and security cameras are a best practice to deter graffiti, and will be installed.

For exterior graffiti on brick and concrete, Clean City Pro Blue Gel Graffiti Remover or SoSafe Blue Gel Graffiti Remover are ideal safe, effective graffiti removers.  For interior graffiti removal from university or school bathrooms, Clean City Pro Green Label Graffiti Remover or SoSafe Green Graffiti Remover are ideal safe, effective graffiti removers.  For detailed, step-by-step graffiti removal tips and techniques, check out www.cleancitypro.com

In Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, business owners were upset when their building was tagged with gang graffiti.  After it was cleaned by the city graffiti removal crew, the gangs tagged it a second time.  Between graffiti shadow and much of original paint marred by the repeated graffiti removal attempts, the owners decided to take matters into their own hands for how to stop the tagging and to beautify the commercial corridor.  They decided to paint a giant black and white head shot of Dolly Parton with the assistance of a projector that allowed them to trace the iconic image.  The result has been widely celebrated in the neighborhood and has ended the gang graffiti at that location.