Polycarbonate is virtually unbreakable and this property makes it especially suited to environments where the risk of damage by vandalism is high. These applications include bus shelters, rail car and bus windows, vending machines, advertising and security glazing. However, vandalism comes in many forms, not just breakage. Often vandalism consists of graffiti from marker pens and spray paint. Normally when Polycarbonate is damaged by graffiti the entire Polycarbonate part needs to be replaced.
A better solution is to apply an anti-graffiti coating, which can be added to either uncoated or a hard-coated sheet. This type of coating creates a hydrophobic layer that repels water and reduces the wettability of organic solvents.
When a marker pen is used to write on Polycarbonate with an anti-graffiti coating the inks bead up and do not stick to the sheet; the residue can then be easily wiped of with a soft cloth.
When spray paint is applied to the anti-graffiti coating, the paint does dry; however, with very little effort the paint can be removed with a very mild abrasive that does not damage the Polycarbonate. When spray paint is applied to standard Polycarbonate it is virtually impossible to remove the paint.
Anti-graffiti coated Polycarbonate sheets are more expensive than standard Polycarbonate sheets. However, they are less expensive than having to buy additional sheet to replace graffiti covered parts. Often the cost of additional sheet, fabrication of the parts and the expense of removing and reinstalling the parts can be many times the cost of the anti-graffiti coating.
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