Zion National Park is one of Utah’s most-visited national parks.  It is magnificent in its natural beauty and is a source of pride for all Americans.

Despite this, a graffiti tagger has defaced a rock face with spray paint.  This has resulted in outrage and disgust.

National Park officials have had to remind visitors to this US National Park that graffiti tags (in this case a pair of triangles) is NOT art.  It is NOT artistic expression.  It is ONLY vandalism.

"As important as artistic expression is, we do not want to deface the natural resources of our beautiful public lands,” the post reads on the Zion National Park Website. “No matter how small or superficially drawn, graffiti in the park is vandalism. Humans have been leaving their marks on rock walls for thousands of years in this region. But these days, writing on the walls isn’t necessary, and in a national park, it’s illegal.”

The punishment for vandalism includes possible jail time and potentially thousands of dollars in fines.

What is the difference between street art and graffiti tagging?  Everything.  

How to Remove Graffiti Spray Paint from Stone, Limestone, Rock, and Boulders.​

3 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Stone, Limestone, Rock and Boulders.
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Step 1: Brush Clean City Pro GREEN Label Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag.  In closed and sensitive environments such as Ape Cave, the best practice to to "paint" the graffiti remover onto the graffiti remover using a thick deck brush.  This focuses the graffiti remover precisely onto the graffiti tag and avoids spraying product which will result in small airborne droplets of graffiti remover solvent.

Note:  If water source is not available for pressure washer and rinsing, such as cleaning graffiti from National Park, Municipal Park or Forest Preserve,  following dwell time, scrub using stiff nylon or brass brush taking care not to scratch surface.  Remove as much product and paint pigment using dry absorbent rags or towels.  Spray with water from hand held trigger sprayer and dry using dry absorbent rags or towels 

Dozens of volunteers spent their Memorial Day weekend honoring fallen service members by removing graffiti from approximately 200 headstones in the Sunset Hill Memorial Estates Cemetery in Glen Carbon Illinois near St. Louis.  More than 1,400 graves of United States Veterans are located at the cemetery and an annual flag-raising ceremony is held every year to honor their service and their memories.  The graffiti attack included swastikas painted with black spray paint onto the stone headstones, mausoleum, and statues.  The removal was a true community effort with dozens of volunteers and local restaurants donating food and drink to support the community graffiti removal action. 

The graffiti vandal was identified and arrested based on surveillance camera footage which showed the vandal walking through the cemetery the night of the graffiti attack.  This is another example where security cameras help to deter graffiti attacks and security camera footage leads to the arrest of the graffiti vandal.  In addition to crimes related to vandalism, the swastikas spray painted onto U.S. service members headstones on Memorial Day Weekend will likely be charged as a hate crime.

According to Glen Carbon Police Lt. Wayne White,  “The fact that he did this on Memorial Day weekend is inexcusable and disgusting behavior that we’re not going to tolerate.”

How to Remove Graffiti Spray Paint from Stone, Limestone, Rock, and Boulders.
​3 Simple Steps to Remove Graffiti from Stone, Limestone, Rock and Boulders.
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Step 1: Spray, pour or brush Clean City Pro Red Label Graffiti Remover or Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover onto graffiti tag.

Step 2: Allow a moderate dwell time of 3 to 20 minutes
Note:  A longer or shorter dwell time is possible depending on conditions.  If spray paint is highly saturated, the limestone is highly porous or the temperature is cold, allow for a longer dwell time.

​Step 3: Pressure wash using a wide, fan tip pressure washing nozzle such as 25 degree green tip.  Repeat if necessary.

Note:  If water source is not available for pressure washer and rinsing, such as cleaning graffiti from National Park, Municipal Park or Forest Preserve,  following dwell time, scrub using stiff nylon or brass brush taking care not to scratch surface.  Remove as much product and paint pigment using dry absorbent rags or towels.  Spray with water from hand held trigger sprayer and dry using dry absorbent rags or towels.

Additionally, if no pressure washer is available, a pressurized 1-gallon pump sprayer (insecticide style sprayer) can be used to generate some limited pressure and rinsing action on the stone surface.

Clean City Pro Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is a fast, effective and safe heavy duty graffiti remover for removing Spray Paint and Permanent Marker from porous surfaces including
Concrete, Brick, limestone, stone, Rock and other difficult surfaces 

Product Benefits:

• Gel Formulation is designed to cling to vertical surfaces and provide maximum dwell time
• High-Performance
• Highly-Effective
• Spray and Pressure Wash
• Safe  for User
• Safe for Pets
• Safe for Environment
• ​Scientifically-Formulated
• Non-Hazardous Shipping

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

• "Green" Graffiti Remover
• Super Low VOC
• Low Odor
• Non-Toxic
• Non-Hazardous Shipping
• Soy-Powered
• Bio-Based
• Readily Biodegradable
• Non-Corrosive
• Non-Flammable
• Non-Aerosol

Step-By-Step Instructions for Removing Graffiti from Rough Surfaces Like Headstones

STEP-BY-STEP APPLICATION BEST PRACTICES for Removing Graffiti from Concrete, Brick or Stone using Clean City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover.
1.  City Pro Heavy Duty Blue Label Gel Graffiti Remover is for use on non-sensitive surfaces such as brick concrete, stone and other difficult surfaces.  If using on sensitive surfaces, always test in inconspicuous area before use.
2.  Use chemical resistant gloves and goggles.
3.  Spray or brush graffiti remover onto affected area.  (Ready-to-use. No dilution necessary)
4.  Control drips using nylon or wire brush
5.  Allow dwell time from 5 to 20 minutes (longer in cold temps)
6.  Warmer temperatures, hot water, and agitation with wire brush increase effectiveness
7.  Rinse with pressure washer using even, slow passes.  Use 15° fan tip or wider.
8.  Repeat if necessary.

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.