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Mrs. Jones has been living in her small town for 30 years and has never felt out of place until recently. Now, she feels uncomfortable pulling up to her dry cleaners or the library because the

downtown core is plagued with graffiti. Mrs. Jones, along with many of the town’s citizens, associate the unsightly and often offensive graffiti with bad neighborhoods. She and her friends won’t go downtown anymore. Now the core of the town is losing business. The slow downward slide for business core has begun.

A variation of that story is being played out every day across North America but with the help of Dumond Chemicals, some cities are fighting back. Collingwood, Ontario recently began its Great Graffiti Paint Out program to eradicate graffiti from the downtown core. Toronto mayor Rob Ford has made the fight against graf-fit one of his top priorities.

Since the early 1980’s, Dumond has been working with municipal and provincial government agencies to keep their streets safe and beautiful. The company has become a leading source of information and expertise on graffiti control with architects, specification writers, end-users, salespersons, distributors, and companies interested in buying or selling graffiti control products.

Don’t just repaintPainting over graffiti has been done in the past, but has

proven to be a band-aid solution that often makes the property look worse. On painted surfaces it creates a fresh billboard look that often does not match the existing colour, resulting in patches that look hideous and scream “Tag-me-again.” Painting over graffiti damage on a natural brick or stone surface changes the property’s appearance and spawns both on-going maintenance and expense. On the other hand, non-sacrificial graffiti barriers offer prop-erty owners a long-term environmentally safe solution with superior performance and wear characteristics.

The challenges of protectionBeing a paint contractor who specializes in dealing with graffiti is not easy. They are challenged daily with a com-bination of issues in solving graffiti-related problems. An example would be not knowing the coatings history of a 175-year-old building. In order to provide the best solu-tion in such a case, paint professionals will apply test patches to identify the optimal graffiti removal method and/or the adhesion or compatibility of a graffiti barrier for an array of substrates. Once the testing is completed, the painter can clearly understand the removal and appli-cation process necessary, as well as material and labour costs associated with the project.

The tests also determine dwell times, meaning Dumond’s line of Watchdog graffiti removal products can be formu-lated to tackle old, deeply embedded graffiti and can even sometimes remove the ghostly images other removal

GRAFFITI GONE!

The Dumond solutionBy Rob Koci

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methods have left behind. This testing information is critical and needed throughout all phases of the project, from planning and estimating to project management. “Truthfully,” says Dumond president and CEO John Pet-roci “Combating graffiti becomes more often an art as opposed to a science.”

Vandals use an array of methods to deface a property. Spray paints, the most commonly used paint, has thou-sands of different colours and formulas. Typical water-based enamel is much easier to remove than an epoxy, urethane, or automotive finish. Markers, ink, and shoe polishes are even more challenging.

The products…For porous surfaces, Dumond’s Wipe Out Porous Surface Graffiti Remover under the Watch Dog Brand is formu-lated to effectively and easily remove existing graffiti from most porous surfaces without damaging the substrate or leaving scarring and ghosting behind. It is also safe for both the applicator and the environment. This new technology salvages the substrate and avoids traditional

damages that occur during the removal process by harsh chemicals, scrapping, grinding and blasting techniques. Wipe Out Porous Surface Graffiti Remover is particularly useful on historic monuments: both statues and buildings.

For smooth surfaces, Watchdog Lift Away Graffiti Remover is ideal for cleaning road signs, roll-up security doors, transit vehicles, control boxes, desks, lockers, bath-room partitions, playground equipment, mailboxes, and glass. These surfaces are often less challenging as they offer a smooth or glossy surface.

The Watchdog line of Dumond’s graffiti removal products

Professional Painter • Fall 2011

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…and the service For areas that are habitually getting tagged, paint dealers and paint professionals utilize both “consultative” and “solution selling” techniques by offering their customers long-term solutions enabling quick and easy future graffiti removal by applying a Watchdog - Non-Sacrificial Graffiti Barrier Coating specific to their substrates and needs.

An example would be the use of Watchdog’s CPU 147 Graffiti Barrier Coating specifically for porous/unpainted surfaces. This penetrating water-based, low-VOC coat-

ing for porous sur-faces is a clear, no sheen, ready-to-use formula that with-stands repeated

graffiti removals and is ideal for concrete, brick, masonry, stucco, and wood surfaces. Aesthetically, this is more appealing and less labour intensive than repainting or using a sacrificial graffiti barrier coating.

Get the training“During the past several years,” says Petroci, “the paint deal-er and contractors have had to adjust to the fast-changing world. We realized much-needed training, both sales and product knowledge, was required to support the efforts of the paint dealer and contractors performing the work.”

Those changes are taking place both at the counter and on the job site, within end-user businesses and within architectural firms that are challenged in addressing graffiti problems. “The marketplace needs painting professionals properly educated in safe and proven graffiti removal meth-ods and the new chemistry available when combating the escalating graffiti problem,” says Petroci.

As the leader in graffiti removal, Dumond has made a tremendous investment over the last few years in people to provide the level of training needed. Paint dealers and paint trades that have embraced Dumond’s train-ing programs are positioning their business for rapid

growth by providing a key solution to a challenging problem thereby strengthening customer relationships for other products and services. They view Dumond as an extension to their business and an enhancement to their service offering.

Training regarding Dumond Watch Dog Graffiti Con-trol Products is conducted routinely with architects, specification writers, estimators, end-users, sales and distributors as a value-added service. On large projects, companies often deploy a Dumond technical represen-tative to the job site to work in conjunction with the paint dealer, architect and contractor involved. This ensures the desired outcome is achieved and the proj-ect deemed successful.

“We fully realize our success as a company is contingent upon the success of both our distributors and their customers per-forming the work. Train-ing has always been, and will continue to be, viewed as a must have in regards to supporting the paint dealers nation-ally,” says Petroci.

And salesGraffiti abatement is not only a strong segment of the paint industry, it is a growing one. Dumond continues to work in con-junction with paint deal-ers and paint contractors nationally in developing effective sales strategies and the tactics needed to ensure the best possible service to the building owners in need of this kind of service.

Some markets are more troubled than others, however. Graf-fiti damage has reached new heights and every paint dealer and end user should be positioning their business as the leading source for graffiti control products within their respective markets, educating their customers about new chemistry available and demonstrating products.