Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Lexington

Cleaning White Bronze and Tree Sap in Lexington

Lexington Cemetery is thick with trees. Massive oaks and magnolias cover the grounds. This shade is hard on headstones. The trees drop sap and wet leaves constantly. This debris sits on the stone and hardens. It traps dirt, turning into a black paste that regular rain won't wash off. It stains the white marble dark brown and hides the names.

The ground here is tricky, too. The soil sits on limestone that forms sinkholes. The earth drops out from under the markers unexpectedly. We also deal with "White Bronze" markers. These are actually hollow zinc. They turn dark grey and start to buckle under their own weight. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to stabilize these sinking stones and to clean the heavy sap buildup from their family plots.

Restoring "White Bronze" (Zinc) Markers

Lexington has hundreds of these blue-grey monuments. They are hollow zinc shells, not solid rock. They turn dark grey as they age. The metal gets weak. The weight of the monument often crushes the base, making the sides bow out and split.

We treat these carefully. Acid cleaners destroy zinc. We wash them with soft brushes and specialized soap. We scrub off the dark tarnish. The original bluish-silver color returns without damaging the fragile metal seams.

Removing Sticky Tree Sap

Tree sap lands on the stone and hardens. Dust sticks to it, creating black tar spots. Water won't touch it. Scrubbing with soap just smears the sticky black goop across the name.

We use a solvent to melt the resin. We spot-treat the heavy deposits until they dissolve. We wipe the surface clean. After the sap is gone, we spray the stone to kill the mold that grew underneath the muck.

Stabilizing Stones in Sinkhole Soil

The ground in Lexington is unstable. Dirt washes away into underground voids. We see monuments that have tipped over because the ground simply disappeared beneath one corner.

We fix this by excavating a wider footprint. We dig past the soft dirt. We build a pad using compacted gravel. This bridges the weak spots in the soil. We hoist the monument back onto this solid base, and it stays level.

Cleaning Magnolia Stains

Magnolia leaves are heavy and waxy. When they rot on a flat marker, they leave a deep, tobacco-colored stain. This dye soaks deep into porous marble.

We pull these stains out with a poultice. We mix a clay paste and trowel it over the discoloration. As the paste dries, it absorbs the brown pigment from the stone. We wash the dry powder away, leaving the stone white.

Preserving Crumbling Limestone

Many pioneer graves in the Bluegrass region are local limestone. This stone gets soft with age. The surface turns to powder. Scrubbing it wipes away the inscription.

We clean these with a chemical foam. It lifts the dirt without abrasion. We rinse it with a low-pressure mist. Then, we apply a consolidator. This fluid soaks into the rock and locks the grains together, stopping the erosion.

Restoring Bronze Plaques

Camp Nelson and the military sections have thousands of bronze markers. Humidity attacks the metal. It turns a chalky green that makes the lettering hard to read.

We restore the finish. We strip the corrosion down to bare metal. We use a torch to heat the bronze and burn off any moisture. Then we spray a high-grade clear coat. This seals the surface and brings back the dark, readable contrast.

Repairing Mower Damage

In the newer sections, flat markers sit low in the grass. Mowers run over them. We see tire marks and chipped edges.

We clean the rubber marks with solvent. We smooth the chipped granite edges with diamond files. We can't replace the missing stone, but we make the damage look neat and intentional.

Service Costs in Lexington

Restoring a hollow zinc monument is specialized work. Removing deep sap stains takes time. We need to see the stone to price it. Use our online pricing tool. Pick the cemetery, show us the stone, and we give you a quote.