Could a new solvent developed in Northern Ireland be the writing on the wall for graffiti?
There is not a village, town or city in Ireland untouched by graffiti. Whether the slogans are amusing or offensive, they are hard to ignore. For some graffiti it is an art form or a freedom of expression. It is a means to understanding the political situation of any given place.
The more common view is that it's an eyesore, pure vandalism.
Due to the advent of aerosol paint spray, graffiti has become more permanent. A firm in Northern Ireland Kilco Chemicals, in conjunction with the Department of Industrial Science has developed a solvent to tackle graffiti. Its makers claim,
It can remove the offending slogans from almost any surface leaving it as good as new.
The solvent has been specially formulated to remove the graffiti, leaving the paintwork underneath intact,
So that when the job's finished you don't have the expense of repainting the premises.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for graffiti.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 February 1977.
