The Smog "Dead End"
Pomona is where the air runs out of room. The sea breeze pushes Los Angeles exhaust east until it hits the hills. Four freeways dump exhaust here. It doesn't move. It settles on the stone and turns into acid.
When that pollution mixes with morning dew, it eats the stone. It dissolves the surface of old marble markers. The surface turns yellow and feels rough, like a sugar cube. We call this "sugaring."
You can't scrub this smooth. If you use a wire brush, you will wipe the face of the stone away. We use grave site cleaning services with alkaline neutralizers to stop the burn. We use a clay paste. It sucks the yellow sulfur right out of the stone. The white color comes back. We stop the stone from dissolving further.
Wind-Blown Grit
The valley acts like a funnel. The wind picks up sharp dust from the industrial zones and the Fairplex grounds. It hits headstones constantly. It acts like a slow-motion sandblaster. Over years, it strips the polish off granite faces.
The stone goes dull. If you are searching for headstone cleaning services near me because a marker has lost its reflection, that is physical erosion. The wind has physically removed the sealed surface.
Once that factory seal is gone, the stone becomes a sponge. It absorbs water, diesel soot, and minerals. It darkens permanently when wet. We stop this cycle. We deep clean the open pores. Then, we apply specialized stone enhancers. These fluids soak into the micro-abrasions, filling the pits and restoring the deep color. We finish with a sacrificial coating that takes the beating from the wind so the granite doesn't have to.
Seismic and Thermal Instability
We are close to active fault lines, but the heat is just as dangerous. Summer heat makes granite expand. Night cools it down. This cycle snaps the glue holding the monument.
The stone starts walking on its base. A 500-pound slab can fall on someone. We fix it before that happens.
Our tombstone repair and restoration teams check for these loose joints on every visit. We don't just patch it with cement. Rigid cement will just crack again. We clean out the old, brittle glue and re-set the marker with flexible industrial epoxy. This rubberized compound absorbs the vibration without snapping, keeping the monument upright and secure.
Hard Water Scale
Hard water hits hot granite and boils off. It leaves a layer of rock behind. This white crust buries the name.
This scale bonds to the granite like concrete. Scrapers ruin the finish. We use a chemical descaler. We melt it off chemically. We wash away the white haze to reveal the inscription underneath.