I am looking at cleaning the front glass on my friend’s tattoo shop, but some of the signage is vinyl and some is hand painted. Is it possible to clean this type of thing? What kind of techniques are there? Thanks in advance for any help.
Vinyl is no problem, but the painted stuff can be. I have been dealing with storefronts that have temporary holiday paint on them and it comes off easy. Some times the artist uses more permanent paint that can be lightly cleaned over. I would say to test a small area and see the results.
Taking paint off of windows is easy no matter what kind of paint is used or how long it has been there. Go down to your local paint supply store and ask them for a stripper that contains “Methylene Chloride”.
It is a gel like substance that you apply with a cheap throw away paint brush. Apply it liberally to the paint and wait about 30 seconds. You will see the paint bubble. When it does, simply scrape the paint off of the window. It comes off VERY easily.
As always, keep safety in mind. This stuff can be dangerous. Use in a well ventilated area, use gloves because it will burn the skin, and don’t wipe the tears of joy off your face util you take your gloves off.
I know how to get paint off, I need to clean the windows and leave the paint, its a permanent sign displaying the names of the artist, i think it took the girl who painted it like 3 weeks to complete, she won’t want it removed
Ask if they have sealed it. Usually they do - in my experience the stuff they use over here comes off quite easy (acrylics). There is a way to squeegee around it - I use a wagtail with minimum water (use it upside down at the top) & stay around an inch away using my scrim after.
Do a test cleaning on it. Most window paintings that are meant to be permanent were done with oil based paint I would guess. Plenty of my storefronts customers have this on their windows.
We usually wet non drippable areas,but just bronze the intricate stuff and let the owner know why.
