Store owners in Chicago are outraged over a new, more destructive type of graffiti in which vandals use acid to burn images into their buildings and windows.

Police said "acid tagging" has appeared on a number of stores.

The acid is so strong that it etches the glass, the report said.

Unlike regular paint, which can be power-washed or painted over, there's really no way to get rid of this acid except to replace the glass.

"And you can see if you look at it and feel it too, it's like really burnt into the glass," store owner Phil Angotti said. "You can actually feel with your finger. It's actually etched in deeply into the glass."

Steve Lipshutz has already replaced all the windows on his hardware store once this year and the vandals came back.

Lipshutz says police couldn't do anything about it because nobody saw the vandals in the act.

3M plans to offer a new Scotchguard film to protect windows from acid tagging.

Lipshutz is considering the treatment because replacing the glass at his store costs almost $1,000.

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