Graffiti: A Problem Older Than the Forest Service
Graffiti is an age-old problem. The word comes from the Italian graffio, meaning "scratch," and refers to unauthorized markings, symbols, words, or paintings. It's hard to understand why anyone would deface a natural place just to announce that they "were here" or that "SB ❤️ TR." Whatever the motive, it is certainly not the act of a Friend of the Shawnee.
It takes a vandal only a minute or two to mark up a rock, sign, bench, or tree, but removing each spot could take our volunteers an hour or more of hard work. Once we we're alerted to some graffiti, a crew would hike in with graffiti remover, gloves, safety glasses, a backpack sprayer, and roughly a gallon of water for every square foot of graffiti (usually a couple of 5-gallon buckets).
Our Method
Our go-to product is Elephant Snot (yes, really). It earns the name: it looks and behaves just as you'd imagine. While I can't say I've ever seen actual elephant snot, I'm fairly confident in the comparison. We brush it over the entire affected area and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, longer in colder weather or when there are multiple layers of paint, agitating it about every 5 minutes. We then rinse away the product and paint with the backpack sprayer. This generally works well, depending on the surface and type of paint, though keeping the sprayer pressurized at 40-60 PSI means a lot of constant pumping.
A Game-Changing Tool
About a year ago, Friends of the Shawnee added a new tool to the effort: the DeWalt 60V cordless pressure washer, which delivers up to 1,000 PSI. It can draw water directly from a bucket, creek, or lake, so when water is nearby, we don't have to carry any in! It also cuts the time and water required dramatically. The Elephant Snot still needs its 10 to 15 minutes to work, but the pressure washer blasts the graffiti away efficiently. Most spots come clean in a single pass, so we can move quickly from one site to the next.
Keeping Watch
Friends of the Shawnee and the Shawnee National Forest track all graffiti that is found and removed. Repeat offenders are actively pursued, and Shawnee Law Enforcement has cited multiple people over the years. Please help us protect this special place: take only pictures, leave only footprints!
Join Us
Interested in helping with graffiti removal? You're welcome to tag along and gain hands-on experience before leading your own removal efforts. We also have opportunities for trash blasts and invasive species removal. Email us at hello@shawneefriends.org to get involved.
Unable to help in person? You can still make a difference by donating here. And if you'd like to do even more for the Shawnee, consider joining our Board of Directors. Just email us at hello@shawneefriends.org.