WACKER, the Munich-based chemical group, has recently launched its new anti-graffiti concentrate SILRES® BS 710. Formulations based on this product yield a protective silicone film that is long-lasting, elastic and easy to clean. Any graffiti can simply be washed off with water. Stickers, posters or signs that have been pasted onto walls can easily be removed as well. Coating materials made of SILRES® BS 710 are permeable to water vapor and form a permanent bond with concrete, masonry and natural stone without a primer coat. The product contains no organotin compounds or oximes and is a low solvent formulation, notes a write-up from the company.

The new anti-graffiti concentrate is a one-part silicone rubber formulation that cures to form a silicone elastomer at room temperature and upon exposure to moisture. The difference between SILRES® BS 710 and traditional silicone-based anti-graffiti coating compounds is its unique formulation concept, which completely eliminates the need for tin catalysts and oxime crosslinkers.

Coating materials made from SILRES® BS 710 can be sprayed onto surfaces or applied with a roller or brush. A single treatment is generally enough. Surfaces will be reliably protected from graffiti and posters after a curing time of one day.

Studies conducted on adhesive properties have shown that porous mineral substrates like concrete or bricks do not need to be primed prior to the application of a coating material made from SILRES® BS 710. The silicone film is permeable to water vapor.

The cured film is elastic and resistant to any impact that weather or temperature could have under real circumstances. Thanks to its flexibility and good adhesion to the substrate, the film remains intact even during the processes of washing off graffiti or removing stickers

Typical applications of SILRES® BS 710 include anti-graffiti and poster release coatings for residential areas, schools, pedestrian underpasses, parking garages, train stations, freeway bridges and noise barriers.  Removing graffiti costs over €200 million annually in Germany alone.