Home / Expert Advice / Graffiti Removal

DO:

1. Make sure you wear gloves, goggles and protect yourself from the sun whilst volunteering. Realize you are amongst others on streets and roads. We want to keep you safe.
2. Realize these Safewipes are for smaller type graffiti on most surfaces. Larger graffiti on painted surfaces is far quicker to paint over.
3. Try to remove little bits of each marker before embarking on a large area….(if you can’t remove a few square inches then you will not be able to remove several square feet!)
4. When using the Safewipes, clean and complete small areas at a time. Remember, after dissolving graffiti with Safewipes, it is best to use our Afterwipes or a damp cloth for a really great looking finish.
5. Remember the golden rule: If it’s not coming off easy then you must rethink the situation. There should be no such thing as a hard job.
6. Pat small areas of graffiti ahead of you with the Safewipe before full scale hard wiping. This will pre-soften the graffiti making it faster to remove. Also, ‘patting’ the Safewipe on the pavement can pick up a little dust and grime which can help ‘scour’ old or thick graffiti away too.
7. Report any unfinished work to your team leader or something that would maybe re-attract the vandal.
8. Realize that you are an important, skilled person who is much appreciated by your community.
9. Make sure you have fun and success whilst removing graffiti.

DON'T:

1. Don’t think you can do anything and everything. Even professionals have to realize their limitations. By testing small bits you will avoid any embarrassment in front of people.
2. Report what you cannot do.
3.  Don’t be afraid to realize you are actually learning a highly skilled trade that can be use in many other facets of your life. Experiment and tell others of your results.
4. Don’t worry if every tiny bit is not removed; ‘Drive-By' standard will do. You can always be finicky once the vandals are out of the area.
5. Don’t repaint/obliterate something by using an obviously wrong color. Vandals are attracted  to the picture frame rectangle you have just completed.
6. Don’t worry if things don’t happen like they are supposed to. Shift to something that will happen. There is no shortage of graffiti and every little bit helps our community. Head for the areas that you can be successful in performing immediately.

Little Tokyo Sparkle along with 500 volunteers remove graffiti in Los Angeles, May 2025

Video Courtesy of @akidocenterla

150 volunteers remove graffiti from the Japanese American National Museum during the LA Protests in June 2025

Video Courtesy of @latimes.404