Shielding LAs budgets
August 1st 2007 Estimates put the cost of graffiti and gum removal at anywhere between £200m to £1bn per annum in the UK. Si Laboratories says its latest products – Graffiti Shield and Gumm Shield can dramatically cut the burden on the public purse Graffiti Shield only has to be applied once to provide a permanent protective coating, and being a non-toxic product it is environmentally safe. All the usual graffiti materials can be easily washed away with soap and water, and the most difficult paints – the ones that are specifically designed to be permanent – can be quickly tackled with a special remover. It removes these paints in seconds without damaging the permanent protective coating in any way. Graffiti Shield creates a non-stick surface which paint, crayon, inks and magic markers cannot adhere to. It can be applied to all metal, alloy, concrete, plastic or painted surfaces and will not break down from UV exposure. It is also resistant to chemical attacks and has outstanding resistance to solvents, acids and alkali exposure. "To date the graffiti protection market has been generally made up of epoxy based products which are time-consuming and restrictive to use because local authority staff have to apply them in two separate coats within 24 hours," explains Si laboratories'md, Lynne MacGregor. "Even when all that has been done, these products tend not to be permanent because when you remove the graffiti the protective coating is also removed, and the whole application has to be carried out again." Gumm Shield is a permanent coating that prevents chewing gum from sticking to a surface. Instead, the gum rolls up into a ball and dries out, making it easy to sweep up. Gumm Shield is non slip, invisible and provides permanent protection,and Si claims its delivers considerable savings in time and money. Easy to apply, non toxic and odour free it can be applied to a range of hard surfaces, including concrete, tarmac,brick,paving blocks and slabs. "Chewing gum is very difficult and expensive to remove using existing conventional methods such as scraping, freezing,pressure washing, chemicals and steam injection,"says MacGregor. "These methods do not perform satisfactorily, they cause disruption to pedestrians and they can leave an oily stain and damage the surfaces being treated.And once the clean up has been completed, the areas are soon covered in chewing gum again because the surface has no permanent protection – so the whole cleaning cycle has to start again. The Gumm Shield protective system will stay in place and continue to work effectively for the lifespan of the surface to which is it applied." Gumm Shield has the added benefit of repelling algae,grease, oil, fats and tyre marks. Enquire for further details. More articles from S.I. Laboratories Ltd: | 
