The Rincon Mountain Runoff
Tanque Verde sits at the base of the Rincon Mountains. When it rains, water rushes down the slopes carrying heavy, iron-rich gravel. It slams into the base of monuments. We constantly see "undercutting," where the soil washes out from the downhill side of a headstone, causing it to tilt.
If you ignore this, the stone will fall. Our tombstone repair and restoration teams monitor the grade. We backfill the washout and stabilize the ground to keep the memorial upright against the flow of the mountain runoff.
Mesquite Sap and Stains
This area is full of old-growth Mesquite forests. These trees drop sticky pods and sap. When that lands on a porous marker, it creates a dark, tannic stain that looks like oil.
Water won't touch it. The sun bakes it into a hard varnish. We use biological cleaners in our grave site cleaning services to break down these organic enzymes. We lift the stain out of the pores without using harsh acids that would eat the stone.
Foothills UV Intensity
The air is clear out here. The UV radiation is unfiltered. It bleaches the paint in engravings rapidly. A name that was black fades to gray. We specialize in memorial restoration services that re-ink these letters with UV-stable pigment, making the inscription pop against the colorful desert stone.