Western Railroad Discussion > Graffiti "artists": do they damage the cars inside the auto-racks

Watching loaded auto-racks being switched a couple of weeks at the Honda facility in Richmond, California it occurred to me that surely the cars inside must get damaged when a graffiti vandal is at work. Surly some of the spray paint would get through the slats and holes on the side panels of the auto-rack and onto the cars inside. Yet I've never heard of paint damage to the cars inside being a problem.

The auto-racks in these photos are only lightly vandalised.You see some auto-racks covered with paint top to bottom.

Does anyone have any info. TIA

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Should not be much of a problem and you will never know it as they will buff the car out before its ever seen by the public.

What causes problems are high powered guns both hand guns and rifles those don't buff out. Years back they would take parts off of the cars while under way and drop them off along the right of way then go back and retrieve them later.

From my understanding, it is a problem. Hence the reason new or reconditioned autoracks have panels with fewer and smaller holes, as well as strips added between the panels, to reduce the amount of spraypaint, dust, or other contaminants getting through and onto the vehicles inside.

From what i have read, The smaller cars inside the racks dont have much damage as the paint mist is dry when it hits the car. The "dust" can be wiped off with a cloth. Larger vehicles may have a bigger problem as they would be closer to the paint source.

I suspect this is true from my spray painting HO models in my mothers garage while her white car was inside. The car had a layer of blue dust on it. After she had pitched her fit, the paint dust simply wiped off.

Many of the larger designs on auto racks are painted with a roller, so there would be no over spray.

Michael

In addition I would think most of the graffiti vandalism is done on empty cars as they spend much more time sitting than loads.
JB

First, regardless of talent, they are vandals, not artists. And yes, over spray from their vandalism is a problem.

Prior to shipping, most new cars are covered in places with a protective shipping film (like sticky vinyl), commonly called RapGard. The vehicles also have a transit wax applied to the painted surfaces that is easily (chemically) removed in the PDI process before the car is offered for sale.

Auto manufacturers used to spray cosmoline on the vehicles, which is a thick, waxy substance that was removed during the PDI with a solvent. But they don't coat the entire vehicle any longer so yes, over spray has to be manually removed from any surfaces that weren't protected by the transit wax or the film. No doubt these extra costs for protective materials and extended PDI processes incur costs that are ultimately passed on to the new car buyer.

Graffiti vandals are the scum of civilized society.

Cosmoline?...on the car! Hope you have a photo of that..

When I worked for Honda many years ago, all cars arrived with a coat of cosmoline on them. Our service department had a guy whose sole job was to spray them from top to bottom, engine included, with solvent, then power wash the mess off before the next guy detailed the car. After that it went through the service department and was made ready to be put on the line. I think cosmoline, or the process of removing it, was determined to be environmentally unfriendly so the practice was then limited to the engine only, and eventually stopped altogether.

Likely that the environmental problem was with the solvents used for removal rather than the cosmoline itself.  By itself, it's just a wax.  You can still buy the stuff in buckets and spray cans.

My dad was a rifle instructor in the WWII-era navy and absolutely hated the stuff.  Coating and de-coating rifles and large diameter guns was part of the busy work that the Navy used to occupy sailors' time.

He was fond of a modified nursery rhyme:  "Jack Spratt could eat no fat, but his wife could eat cosmoline"  As an 8-year old boy, that was the perfect gross-out for me, and I laughed about it for years.

3rdswitch Wrote:
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> In addition I would think most of the graffiti
> vandalism is done on empty cars as they spend much
> more time sitting than loads.
> JB


I think this is the correct situation. Many empty auto racks sit for longer periods of time in storage or waiting to be moved to an assembly plant. The railroads keep the loaded auto racks moving, they do not sit in an isolated area where the graffiti criminals can get to them.
Graffiti usually occurs in an industrial park where cars are spotted at customer siding or in some remote area where empty cars are stored or held for long periods of time. Graffiti does not usually occur in an active railroad yard.

Interesting to note that very few intermodal containers or trailers ever appear with any graffiti as they are kept moving on the train just like loaded auto racks. Intermodal double stack well cars do have graffiti as they are sometimes stored empty in remote areas for long periods of time.

gmojim



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/17 18:44 by gmojim.

Baretables are frequently stiored n Castroville siding-- -- if you drive highway 183 between Castroville and Salinas next to the tracks, it is one loooong art gallery of graffiti.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/17 13:48 by CarolVoss.

Brake dust or dust in general can be an issue with new cars moved by rail as it imbeds in the new paint. I had some minor issues with my last new car and had to clay bar it. Some guys had it pretty bad though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/17 15:12 by ChrisCampi.

trainjunkie Wrote:
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> Graffiti vandals are the scum of civilized
> society.

I put them right up there with people who would pour concrete on the rails or lay down illegal shunts. It's all about them. Nothing else matters.

I can't imagine anyone spray painting a railroad car on their day off, so I must assume they are on welfare or some other type of socialist nonsense. The shear numbers of people that do it is astounding, almost every car has some sort of tag on it. First offense no welfare for a year, second offense banned for life, nice clean cars as far as the eye can see...

CajonRat Wrote:
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> I can't imagine anyone spray painting a railroad
> car on their day off, so I must assume they are on
> welfare or some other type of socialist nonsense.
> The shear numbers of people that do it is
> astounding, almost every car has some sort of tag
> on it. First offense no welfare for a year,
> second offense banned for life, nice clean cars as
> far as the eye can see...

Guess you never heard about gang members who make big bucks in dealing drugs and have plenty of leisure time to mark their territory with graffiti. Welfare has nothing to do with it.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Most autos are transported in that white plastic wrap, mentioned above. I'd think that pretty much takes care of any overspray possibilities. Now, I've seen many German makes put their cars in some sort of canvas-looking material- almost bag-like. Not sure if they are on the rails that way or just on the truck to the dealer. Yes, we are all paying more for out cars thanks to criminal behavior.
Gangs started this type of graffiti in the early-90's. Then we normalized it with names like "art", "artists", and lack of punishment (slaps on the wrist). It's also glorified on tv, in movies, videos, and in most contemporary music. Once Hollywood gets their hands on something and money is to be made, it is impossible to stop.

CarolVoss Wrote:

> Guess you never heard about gang members who make
> big bucks in dealing drugs and have plenty of
> leisure time to mark their territory with
> graffiti. Welfare has nothing to do with it.
>

I didn't think of that. You are correct, but fear not, the government's war on drugs will save us...

I know locally the damage that so called artist have caused in between inattentive security officers has been quite costly resulting in damage in the lows thousands and the replacement of the officers and vehicles. The so called over spray damaged all vehicles in three auto racks and the vehicles were totaled, the vehicles were Ford, Chevy and Dodge. Officers now patrol the autoracks outside their yard until they are secured inside, when then the object is to keep them safe from those individuals who attempt to steal them once the sally port gates open, and they made a run for it between semi trucks carrying cars to dealers. Very much a surprise to find all this out while working that detail for awhile. Just as note outside our perimeter while patrolling we cannot walk on the rails and must have an orange vest on

CarolVoss Wrote:
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> CajonRat Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I can't imagine anyone spray painting a
> railroad
> > car on their day off, so I must assume they are
> on
> > welfare or some other type of socialist
> nonsense.
> > The shear numbers of people that do it is
> > astounding, almost every car has some sort of
> tag
> > on it. First offense no welfare for a year,
> > second offense banned for life, nice clean cars
> as
> > far as the eye can see...
>
> Guess you never heard about gang members who make
> big bucks in dealing drugs and have plenty of
> leisure time to mark their territory with
> graffiti. Welfare has nothing to do with it.
> C


Nor does drug dealing. Most "Graffiti Artists" these days are not gang related, or even (as many believe) dark skinned gang members from the big cities that collect welfare. That may bave been the case 20 years ago, but not today.

My half brother (who is 18 years younger then me, and I never lived with)is a "Graffiti Artist" with more then one conviction for spraying RR cars. He is a "railfan", and a "white" kid living in Oregon. From his facebook posts, there is a whole community of them in the town and the US. Is he a "stoner" that still lives with his father at age 22, and can't hold a minimum wage job for more then a few weeks? Sure.

And despite what you will read in the comment section at Brietbart/Faux news, "Welfare" is for single mothers only. You cannot collect it as a single, able bodied male. "Food stamps"? Sure. SSI Disability? Probably not.

ALL taggers are criminals, regardless of their background. And, they should be prosecuted as such, namely with felony conviction and record. along with a lengthy jail sentence they would spend cleaning graffiti off of railroad cars or any other private or public property vandalized with graffiti.