MASONRY AND HERITAGE
Graffiti removal and masonry cleaning in Brisbane
Paint on bare stone or brick is normally removed by abrasion or by chemicals, and both take some of the wall with them. The laser takes the paint and stops at the stone. Turned down far enough, it lifts graffiti, soot and a century of grime off sandstone, brick, render and concrete without opening the surface or leaving anything in it. That makes it the right tool for a listed building, and a good one for a car park wall.
What comes off
- Graffiti: spray paint, marker and paste-ups
- Old paint and limewash on stone and brick
- Soot, smoke and pollution crusts
- Mould, lichen, algae and biological growth
- Rust staining from fixings and run-off
What we do it on
- Sandstone, bluestone and granite
- Face brick, terracotta and render
- Concrete: walls, columns, retaining walls, underpasses
- Cast and wrought iron, bronze and copper on the same building
- Memorials, monuments, public art and headstones
Graffiti on a painted wall is different: taking the tag off takes the paint with it. We’ll say so from the photo and tell you whether it’s a clean or a repaint.
How we do it
On stone and masonry the laser is always set from the lowest setting up, on a test area, until it takes the layer and stops at the original surface. On a listed building that test area is agreed with the heritage adviser, photographed, and the setting is held for the rest of the job. The surface is not opened, so it doesn’t weather faster afterwards and it doesn’t need a sealer it didn’t have before.
There’s no water, so nothing soaks into the wall to bring salts out later; no chemical, so nothing to neutralise or contain; and no grit, so no dust across the street or through the building. Extraction runs at the head. For large areas of loose soiling on robust masonry, pressure washing is faster and we’ll say so.
What you get back
Clean stone, brick or concrete with its original surface intact, and a written record: the settings used, photos before, during and after, and a method statement you can file with a heritage approval or a council work order.
On porous stone, paint that has soaked below the surface can leave a shadow the laser can’t reach without taking stone. We find that on the test area and tell you before the quote, not after.
JOBS LIKE THIS
Jobs like this
Graffiti off a sandstone wall
Spray paint lifted off dressed sandstone without a ghost of abrasion, and the wall left looking like the metre beside it.
A listed facade
Soot, paint and biological growth off brick, render and cast iron on a building that can’t be replaced, with the adviser watching the first pass and the record on file.
Memorials and monuments
Lichen, staining and old paint off stone and bronze, worked to the lowest setting that does the job, so the lettering stays crisp.
BEFORE YOU RING
Questions people ask
Will it damage the stone?
Not when it’s set properly, which is why we test on a small area first, from the lowest setting up, and hold that setting. The laser removes the layer on the stone; it isn’t cutting into the stone. Sandstone and brick don’t come out glazed, etched or opened.
Can you remove graffiti without chemicals or pressure washing?
Yes. That’s what the laser is for on masonry. No solvent to soak in, no high-pressure water to drive the paint deeper, no sandblast scar. On bare stone, brick or concrete the tag comes off and the surface stays.
Do you work on heritage-listed buildings?
Yes. We agree the test area and setting with your heritage adviser or conservator on the first pass, photograph the surface before, during and after, and give you a method statement to file with the approval. We use conservation terms carefully and will tell you when something is outside what we do.
What if the paint has soaked into the stone?
Porous stone can hold pigment below the surface, and taking that out means taking stone, which we won’t do without being asked. We’ll find it on the test patch and show you what will come out and what will leave a shadow, so you can decide before we quote.
How do I get a price?
Send a photo of the wall from a few metres back and one up close, and a rough size. Kira will reply with what we’d do and a price or a range, usually the same business day. For councils and body corporates we can quote against a work order.
THE PROCESS
How the job runs
- 01
Send a photo
A photo and a rough size is enough. We’ll tell you what we’d do and what it involves before anyone drives out.
- 02
Method chosen
Laser, blasting, washing or grinding, depending on the surface and what’s on it.
- 03
Removal
Only the layer that has to go. With the laser, nothing is driven into the surface and nothing is left behind on it.
- 04
Inspection
We check it with you. If a spot isn’t right, we fix it before we leave.
- 05
Handover
The surface ready for the next step, with photos of what came off.
OTHER JOBS
Other jobs we get asked for
Every one of these starts the same way: a photo, a rough size, and a straight answer about what we’d do.
Heritage →Rust removal
Rust, mill scale and oxide off steel, iron and castings, back to bare metal that’s ready for primer.
Car paint stripping
Paint, powder coat, underseal and rust off panels, chassis, wheels and castings, with no heat and no grit.
Engine bay cleaning
Paint, grease, rust and old underseal off the bay, the firewall and the block, without pulling the engine.
Antifoul and hull prep
Antifoul, paint, oxide and growth off hulls, keels, shafts, props and fittings, captured rather than left on the hardstand.
Pressure washing
Mould, algae, dirt and loose paint off large areas of render, concrete, pavements and cladding.
Concrete grinding
Failed coatings, adhesives and high spots off floors, walls and overhead, with the dust captured at the machine.