When you visit your loved one at the cemetery after a long absence, sometimes you will discover how dirty it is. You may find your granite headstone covered with mud or has a heavy white calcium deposit on all the lettering and art is almost eligible. Our flat grass headstone and vertical monuments cleaning service can address the calcium and heavy dirt build up. At All Headstones, here’s what we can do to bring that costly stone back to life.
Taking each step separately we first need to define if the stone has sunk below the grass level due to the rains or that heavy equipment ran over it when the cemetery had to do work adjacent to your plot which happens all the time. What we suggest is that you visit the cemetery office and request that they re-level your stone to prevent pooling of water, this is part of the maintenance fees that you have paid them for setting and maintenance. Sometimes the garden is located in a very low valley and this is not an easy adjustment to make.
Once the stone is level then you can address the white calcium deposits on your marker. For mud a simple soap and water solution using a brush will do. For medium to light buildup of calcium all you will need is to purchase is a Pumice stone. This will not scratch the gloss surface and will do an excellent job of removing 100% of the deposits left on the top flat surface. This will take about 30 minutes of medium rubbing. Once this is complete you can now blow it clean, we would then apply a granite polish to enhance the look.
What is a Flat Headstone and Vertical Monuments Cleaning Service?
If it has a porcelain picture inlaid on the stone, do not use the pumice over this for it will scratch the glass surface. What needs to be done is to cover it with painters tape to protect the cameo. If the cameo has a dull white finish on it, you can clean this calcium with vinegar, CLR or a light solution of muriatic acid to rid the porcelain of the calcium build up. Make sure to flush it with lots of clean water.
We are experiencing many headstones that has lost its ink due to UV, water and aging. This is noted by flaking of the letters. We do find in California the EPA has put strong restrictions on all litho paints shipped into the state and the paints available today just will not withstand time.
When repainting is asked for what we do is to clean all the old paint using lacquer thinner (Not Acetone) and brush all the old paints out and compress air dry the entire stone. On all stones except Black (Non porous) we tape off as much of the stone around the repainted letters to avoid having paint get into the pits and voids of the stone. Once the stone is thoroughly dry we spray 2-3 light coats of litho paint . After 30 minutes of drying we remove all the tape and run a pumice stone over the painted surface to remove the overspray. The stone is finished once you get as much of pits and voids cleaned using q-tips and lacquer thinner where you see white dots in the pits.
We at American Headstones offer cleaning, repainting and last dates engraving on site at local cemeteries around Orange County and Los Angeles. We can be reached through our website or Searching for American Headstones Company.
