Historic Headstones

[grasshawg]

Hello all. There was a similar thread posted not long ago, but there wasn't much information. I did a little searching, and found minimal info.

Soon, I will be submitting a proposal on some headstones at a very old historic cemetary. Some of the markers there date back to the early 1800's and have NEVER been touched.

I think some of the material is soft and porous limestone instead of granite or marble. Some of the limestone markers are almost black but supposed to be white.

I have been to a couple of sites that may produce promising results, and I plan to make some call Monday, but I wanted to see if anyone here has ever had any jobs like this.

Any chemical recommendations? Special methods? Hot or cold?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Randy

 

[Larry L.]

Type in "gravestones",the second post should help you alot.

 

[grasshawg]

Thanks, Larry. Did that last night. Those were the possible promising results I was talking about. Just wanted to hear from a few others before I actually made the call.
I'd rather talk to a regular "Joe" like myself first, and not sound like a total moron on the phone.
Just trying to gather all the information I can.
Randy

 

[grasshawg]

Ok, after making a lot of phone calls and doing a ton of reading, I'm confident I have stumbled into a viable market.
www.klenztone.com supplies a suitable chemical that will clean gently while preserving the structural integrity of the stone.
I still have one problem I've not been able to find an answer for. A lady asked me about putting sealer on a stone. I read on a site operated by the state of Texas' Historical Society that sealers are not recommended, (It didn't say why). So that's what I told her.
Her next question made me stutter a bit---"Why?" I left her my card, asked her to give me a couple of days, and call me for the answer.
If anyone here has done this kind of work, I would really like to give this lady an educated answer besides "cause that's what the article said."
I appreciate everyone's help.
Randy