How To Protect Front Panels From Graffiti?

2024 Author: David Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 02:26

As soon as spray paint hit the market, city leaders faced new challenges. Large surfaces of modern urban structures turned out to be completely defenseless against the new threat to public order in the form of the so-called street graffiti.

The owners of the mansions have found effective means of protection - high fences and video surveillance systems. Public buildings, such as schools, clinics, shopping centers, must be provided with a constant free passage for residents. It is impossible to enclose all public buildings with fortress walls.

Fiber cement facade panels, which are usually used for ventilated facades, were also the first victims of new vandals. After all, they were an ideal canvas for the newly-born urban "artists". Smooth surface, wide color palette of background - all this only inspired new creativity.

The city authorities had only one means of struggle - cans of paint, which had to be applied over the "arts". And so it went on until the engineers and technologists of the Belgian company Eternit found new ways of fighting, which they laid down in the technology of manufacturing EQUITONE fiber cement panels, the new generation of facade panels.

Pigmented Fiber Cement Panels

One of the methods for solving the problem was the use of the technology of painting panels "in bulk" or pigmentation of the entire volume of the mixture, which is prepared for the production of fiber cement panels. There were certain difficulties along the way. It was necessary to select persistent pigments that did not change their color during the entire manufacturing process. Next, it was necessary to fine-tune the exact dosage of pigmentation so that all the panels produced in the same batch did not differ in color from each other.

The surface of the Belgian fiber cement panels EQUITONE [tectiva] has the texture of natural concrete. Architects value the natural, natural look of the panels. Illuminated from different angles by the rays of the sun (this usually happens in nature, since the sun is always in motion in its orbit), the facade panels change the color depth. At the same time, the building gives the impression of a living organism and fits well into the changing environment.

Pigmented fiber cement panels have valuable properties. If a small scratch appears on the surface, it will not be noticeable against the general color background. In addition, the ends of the panels do not need to be tinted, as their color matches the color of the facade surface.

Well, and most importantly, Tectiva fiber cement panels are not afraid of graffiti. A small area of the surface can be manually abraded with coarse sandpaper. If the surface of several panels has been damaged by graffiti, a hand sander can be used. In a few minutes, the facade of the building will return to its original appearance.

Protective coating on the surface of fiber cement panels

Painting the panels on the surface has certain positive aspects. Consumption of pigments with this method of painting is reduced. The color palette can be wider and brighter. However, such previous generations of fiber cement panels were at risk of damage to the front side. Drawings and graphomaniac texts applied to the facade appeared to the owners of the building in a dream.

The painted surface of modern EQUITONE [pictura] fiber-cement panels is treated with a protective varnish, which has high hardness, durability and additionally is an obstacle to ultraviolet rays, which discolor the dyes of conventional panels.

The surface of the facade panels is very dense and smooth. Any colorants applied over the protective varnish can be easily removed using a solvent recommended by Eternit and a soft cloth.

EQUITONE fiber cement panels are manufactured at Eternit factories in Belgium and Germany. They are used in the installation of ventilated facades. The service life of EQUITONE panels exceeds 50 years in the most difficult operating conditions.