Spray paint on brick and block
The most common job. Solvent gels dwell on the paint, then low-pressure hot water lifts it. Porous brick sometimes needs two passes rather than more pressure.
Graffiti and gum removal across Gloucestershire — off the wall, off the pavement, without wrecking the surface underneath.
Tags, paint and chewing gum removed from brick, render, stone, glass and paving. We match the method to the surface so you don't trade a tag for a bleached patch. Out-of-hours and weekend working so your frontage stays open.
Why it needs doing quickly
Left alone, a tag attracts more tags.
Graffiti is a repeat-target problem. A wall that stays marked for a fortnight tends to pick up more, and the longer paint sits on a porous surface the further it migrates into it — which turns a quick job into a deep one. The same is true of gum: a shopfront or forecourt that hasn't been done in a couple of years stops reading as neglected and starts reading as abandoned.
Most of the demand for this is commercial — retail frontages, car parks, schools, industrial units, bus shelters, sports grounds and community buildings. We're set up for it: fully insured, method statements and risk assessments supplied before we start, and we'll work evenings or weekends where a daytime clean would block your entrance.
The part that matters most is restraint. Blasting a tag off soft brick or Cotswold stone at high pressure removes the paint and the face of the substrate with it, leaving a clean patch that's lighter and rougher than everything around it. That "shadow" is often more visible from across the street than the graffiti was. We work at the lowest pressure and mildest chemistry that will shift it.
Surfaces and marks
What we take off, and what we take it off.
Paint on render and painted walls
The delicate one — the graffiti and the substrate are both paint. Careful chemistry and testing in an inconspicuous spot first; occasionally the honest answer is a re-coat.
Tags on natural stone
Cotswold limestone, sandstone and Bath stone are soft and absorbent. Steam-led, no abrasives, no acid. See our stone and heritage cleaning for the full method.
Chewing gum on paving
Superheated steam softens the gum and lifts it with the ingrained dirt ring around it. No aggressive scraping, no scarring, and it works on block paving, flags and concrete alike.
Glass, signage and metal
Shopfront glass, powder-coated cladding, roller shutters and street furniture. Etched or scratched glass can't be cleaned off — we'll tell you that rather than sell you a clean.
Anti-graffiti protection
On a wall that gets hit repeatedly, a coating stops paint soaking into the substrate, so the next tag comes off with hot water instead of a full chemical removal. Sacrificial types need re-applying after each removal. Not for historic fabric, where a coating changes how the wall breathes.
How a job runs
Four steps, and a test patch before any of them.
Free site survey
We look at the substrate, the type of paint or gum, how long it's been there and what access is needed. On commercial sites we'll provide RAMS at this point.
Test patch
Always, on anything porous or painted. A small, inconspicuous area first, so we know the method works before it goes near the visible frontage.
Removal
Chemistry appropriate to the surface, dwell time, then low-pressure hot water or superheated steam. Repeat passes rather than more pressure where the mark is stubborn.
Rinse, capture and check
Waste water captured where the site requires it, surroundings rinsed down, and we walk it with you in daylight to check there's no shadow left behind.
Cost
How much does graffiti and gum removal cost?
It depends on the surface, the size of the mark and how long it's been there — so we quote per job after a look, not off a price list. As a rough guide, a single small tag on a forgiving surface is usually a minimum-charge visit; a run of shutters or a large rendered wall is priced on time and materials.
Gum removal on paving is normally priced by area. Larger forecourts, car parks and pedestrian areas work out considerably cheaper per square metre than a small patch.
For commercial sites we're happy to quote on a reactive call-out basis or as a scheduled maintenance arrangement — most managed properties find the scheduled version cheaper over a year, because marks get removed before they set.
Common questions
Common questions about graffiti and gum removal.
Will removing the graffiti leave a clean patch?
That's the thing we're actually trying to avoid. Aggressive removal strips the surface as well as the paint and leaves a lighter, rougher patch that can be more obvious than the tag. We use the lowest pressure and mildest chemistry that will work, test first, and where a mark genuinely can't come off cleanly we'll say so rather than damage the wall.
Do you work out of hours?
Yes. We'll work early morning, evening or at weekends so we're not blocking an entrance or a trading floor during business hours. There's no premium for it on scheduled work.
Can you remove graffiti from a listed building?
Yes. Listed buildings need low-pressure, non-abrasive methods, and cleaning one can itself need listed building consent — we'll want that confirmed in writing by your conservation officer before we start, because doing it without is an offence for us as well as for you. An unlisted building in a conservation area doesn't need consent to be cleaned, but it still deserves the gentle method. See stone and heritage cleaning.
Is the chemistry safe around the public and planting?
We use the mildest chemistry that will do the job, and we capture the waste water rather than letting it run into surface-water drains — that's a legal requirement, not an optional extra. We'll agree exclusion zones on public-facing sites and work around planting, drainage and any watercourse nearby.
Can you stop it coming back?
Not entirely — but a coating makes the next one far cheaper, because the paint sits on the coating rather than soaking into the wall and comes off with hot water instead of a full chemical removal. Sacrificial coatings come off along with the graffiti and need re-applying afterwards, so it's a running cost rather than a one-off. On a wall that's been hit more than twice it usually still works out cheaper.
Graffiti or gum that needs shifting?
Send us a postcode and we'll come back with a price — or WhatsApp a photo straight to 07555 141504 and we'll price it from that. Commercial and domestic, across Gloucestershire and the counties around it.
Where we work