Power Blasting: Preparing the Wall

After much deliberation, the city council declared they would allow our project if we presented a color sketch of the mural.  We had hoped to begin painting the following Tuesday so Kaos, Sheila and I met that very night to work some photoshop magic.  With the speed of a video game addict, Kaos scanned and clicked color onto our pencil sketch.  Within the hour, our sketch took on brilliant colors hinting at the hues of our final product.  

On Monday we went material shopping at a nearby paint store.  I lost myself in the enormous number of paint colors to choose from.  We picked up some preliminary materials, fully aware of the many return trips we would be making.  

I have since made dozens of trips to hard ware stores across the city.  It is quite humorous for the men to watch a little blonde foreigner searching for hardcore materials.  One man asked if I was having a party with the  dust masks and steel wool I was purchasing.  Of course!  What Else?

On Tuesday, none of the necessary pieces fell into place.  Sheila forgot her permission slip to get out of school, I forgot my cell phone and Kaos forgot the meeting place.  It was a disappointing morning for everyone.  Janel had come by to take photographs so we went out to take a look at the wall.  We found that the wall is not painted in ordinary paint.  It is painted in an anti-graffiti paint meant to cover the graffiti below and prevent paint from sticking to its powdery surface.

The only solution is to strip the wall of this powdery mess and then paint and spray.  However, in absence of the necessary funding to sandblast or power wash the wall, it was up to us to power blast the paint away.

Armed with steel wool and metal scrapers we have mounted our defense.  We have spent days and days scraping and scrubbing, becoming intimate with the walls history, revealing graffiti from decades past.  My students recognize the signs and tags from long retired graffiti artists in the neighborhood. We have even found paper posters still clinging to the under layers of brick. 

Although the work is physically taxing, it has been fun to play around, listen to music and at times stop scraping to dance out a song.  We have many neighborhood visitors who drop by to see what’s up or lend a hand. 

Later this week we will fire up the hoses and scrub the excess powder away.  We will then begin the painting process! 

 

Let the fun begin!