Shelter Care & Maintenance

A maintenance friendly shelter means low on-going costs

 Littlethorpe supply an after care and graffiti removal pack with every shelter; reliance on a specialist for graffiti removal is not necessary.

 Maintenance costs often revolve around glass breakages; Littlethorpe shelters have far less glass than most other brands but always have enough glass to see into and out of the shelters thus reducing the opportunity for breakages whilst maintaining good visual balance and security.

Removing graffiti:

 Spray the graffiti remover from the care pack onto two or three sheets of the paper wipes (these pull out from the centre) and gently rub away paint, pen and Tippex alike.  Some graffiti will need a few minutes for the solution to dissolve it.  Some marks may be more stubborn, the foam/scourers can be used on these. If the graffiti is widespread then spray directly onto the shelter, the graffiti solution may take the shine off the surface of the shelter stain so we   recommend using as little of the graffiti remover as possible.  The Graffiti remover is water soluble so can be washed away with clean water.  The graffiti remover will also dissolve dirt (and chewing gum) that has built up in the corners, this can be surprisingly greasy; spray the dirt, rub away with the wipes or the scourers then clean again with the glass cleaner or water.

  Do not use the graffiti remover on Polycarbonate (Perspex) glazing, it will damage the surface and discolour it.  Graffiti can be removed from polycarbonate glazing with “Tee-Cut” this is a mild abrasive paste sold in car accessory shops for rubbing out small scratches on car paint work; it works the same way on polycarbonate. Alternatively Littlethorpe stock a special graffiti remover designed for polycarbonate glazing; please ring for a supply if this is required.

Cleaning:

 Clean the glass with the glass cleaner like any other window. The woodwork can be cleaned with the glass cleaner or with soap, water and chamois leather.

On going maintenance :

 If your new shelter is kept clean and graffiti free it will last a very long time. Out door furniture that is kept looking clean, fresh and cared for attracts considerably less (deliberate) damage.

 In the longer term several things may need doing;

Removing algae:

Algae will grow on most things that are out side all year particularly if there is vegetation near by.  Spray unwanted algae with our moss and algae remover, leave it to work for a day then wash it off, repeat the process to kill off all the spores and prevent new growth.  The Algae remover is water soluble.

Vegetation;

This may need cutting back around the shelter, hedges and trees over a period of several years can grow over the top of any shelter.  Sight lines, that is the line of sight needed by a bus passenger to see the bus coming, can be reduced quite dramatically, often un-noticed because it happens slowly.  We recommend checking the vegetation bi-annually against a pre-prepared plan, a photo of the shelter at the time of installation would be helpful here.

Glazing;

Your shelter has been designed to allow the glazing to be changed easily and without the need for special tools; ring for advice if you need to re-glaze.

Scratches and carving;

 Should this occur they can usually be sanded out.  Light scratches, not going below the depth of the wood stain can be sanded back and the area re-stained.

  Deeper scratches into the wood can be treated by first removing the stain with paint stripper from a defined area, sanding back (with a power sander for deeper damage) and then re-staining that section.  Damaged seats can be removed, planed down and put back, in this situation please ring for advice.

Re–decorating;

  Your new shelter will eventually need re-staining, the intervals between re-decoration may vary according to how exposed the location is, usually one end of a shelter is more exposed than the opposite end and frequent graffiti removal will also shorten the life of the stain.  It is unusual to need to re-stain the whole shelter at the same time.

Products to use;

  The “Sikkens” brand of wood stains has been used during the manufacture of your shelter, we recommend continuing with this brand because of its high performance both in durability and good visual appearance. To stain directly onto bare wood use the base coat “HLS Light Oak 006”. 

  The top coat can be either “Filter 7 Light Oak 006” of a water based equivalent “BL31 Light Oak 006”. The “HLS” and “Filter 7” ranges can be bought over the counter at reputable retail outlets, the “BL31” range from trade stockists.  Rub down gently between coats when dry with fine sand paper; 180 grit or finer.