Graffiti & Ink Removal — Safe on Plastic, Glass and Painted Surfaces

Most graffiti removers are built around one assumption: that the surface underneath is tough enough to survive a strong solvent. That’s true of brick and painted steel — it isn’t true of the surfaces graffiti actually targets most. Bus shelters, advertising hoardings and signage are made from Perspex, PVC and polycarbonate specifically because they’re transparent, which also makes them soft, easy to mark, and exactly the surfaces that solvent-based removers (NMP or NNP among them) will fog, melt or permanently discolour after a single treatment.

Trusted by the world’s largest outdoor advertising company, EN685 was formulated to solve this properly — it’s absorbed into the paint or ink itself and breaks it down chemically, rather than attacking the surface underneath. Find your surface below.

Why choose a non-hazardous remover over a solvent-based one?

If you’re responsible for a facilities or cleaning contract, the choice between a solvent-based graffiti remover and EN685 isn’t really about which one dissolves paint faster — most of them do that adequately. It’s about everything that comes with bringing a hazardous chemical onto site.

Traditional graffiti removers rely on solvents such as NMP or NNP to work fast on tough surfaces. That strength comes with obligations: a COSHH risk assessment before use, specific PPE (often including respiratory protection, not just gloves and eye protection), restricted storage away from ignition sources, and hazardous waste disposal for anything contaminated with the product. Every operative who applies it needs to understand and follow all of that, every time.

EN685 has no classification under CLP — it’s non-hazardous, non-flammable and solvent-free. That doesn’t mean treating it carelessly is a good idea, and we still recommend gloves and eye protection as sensible practice with any cleaning chemical. But it does mean it sits outside the COSHH-heavy category entirely: no specialist storage, no respiratory protection, no hazardous waste stream, and a far simpler risk assessment to write and keep current. For a facilities team managing multiple sites, contractors or a rotating workforce, that’s less time spent on compliance paperwork and less risk sitting with whoever’s actually holding the trigger spray.

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Bus shelters, advertising hoardings and street furniture

This is what EN685 was built for. Spray onto the marked panel, leave for 10–30 seconds, and wipe away the dissolved paint, marker pen or ink — with no fogging or clouding of the plastic underneath, even after repeated treatments over the life of the panel.

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Perspex, polycarbonate and acrylic panels

Machine guards, viewing windows, protective screens and signage all use the same soft, clear plastics that solvent removers ruin. EN685 is safe on Perspex, PVC and polycarbonate, so it can be used anywhere these materials are protecting people or equipment rather than only on street furniture.

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Painted metal and vehicle panels

Spray paint on a van, gate or painted panel doesn’t need the same plastic-safe formulation to work — but it still benefits from a remover that dissolves the paint rather than abrading the surface underneath it, particularly on liveried vehicles where the surrounding paintwork has to survive the treatment untouched.

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Glass and shop windows

Marker pen, spray paint and even lipstick on glass respond the same way — apply, leave for 10–30 seconds, then wipe clean. Because EN685 is non-hazardous and doesn’t rely on evaporation to work, it’s practical to use on shop-front glass during opening hours rather than needing to schedule around ventilation.

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Public toilets, Toilet cubicles and washroom surfaces

Permanent marker and scratched-in graffiti on cubicle doors and washroom fittings is a routine facilities-management problem where graffiti can be offensive, and the surfaces involved are often the same soft plastics and painted metal covered above. EN685 handles permanent marker pen specifically, alongside spray paint and gloss paint.

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Brick, stone and painted masonry

EN685 will also lift paint from brick and stone, though these porous surfaces need a longer dwell time and a more liberal application than plastic or metal. If the surface is very dry, wet it first — otherwise the masonry will absorb the product before it’s had time to work on the paint sitting on top of it.

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Printing ink on production equipment

A related but distinct use: EN685 is also used to strip cured printing ink from rollers, plates, print heads and machine housings — including the Perspex guards and viewing windows on the machine itself, without the fogging risk a solvent-based ink cleaner would carry. Because it doesn’t evaporate away like a solvent, it keeps working for as long as it’s in contact with the ink, so customers typically use only 25–30% of the volume of an equivalent solvent cleaner to do the same job.

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What EN685 removes

Spray paint, permanent marker pen, household gloss paint, printing ink, shoe polish and lipstick — applied neat with a trigger spray or from an open bucket for larger areas, left for 10–30 seconds (longer for thicker or cured layers), then wiped or washed away.

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Tough on Graffiti…….. but kind on your plastic