High Altitude Sun Burn
The sun in Santa Fe destroys paint. It burns the black lithichrome right out of the letters until you can't read the name anymore. Markers looking blank is a common sight here.
When the paint flakes off, the inscription disappears against the gray stone. Don't try to fix it with a permanent marker. It looks bad and fades purple. We scrape the old dead paint out of the grooves. Then we re-ink the letters with specialized monument paint. It bonds to the granite and survives the sun.
Winter Freeze Damage
Winter here breaks stone. Water gets into hairline cracks during the day. At night, it freezes. That pressure splits granite blocks right open.
We see corners popped off bases and tablets cracked down the center. We repair this damage with flowing epoxy. We inject it deep into the opening. It cures hard, sealing the stone so water can't get back in. This prevents the crack from blowing open next winter.
Adobe Clay Staining
The dirt here is adobe. It splashes on the base and cures hard. It isn't just mud; it is construction material.
It leaves a brown stain that goes deep into the rock. Scrubbing it often pushes the clay further in. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me need a chemical solution, not a brush. We use a cleaner that loosens the clay without acid. We wash the mud out, not further in, and the natural stone color returns.
Juniper Berry Stains
Juniper trees are everywhere. They drop purple berries that sit on the flat markers and rot.
The berry juice is oily. Water won't touch it. It soaks in and leaves a dark purple blotch. We have to draw the oil out. We pack a poultice paste over the stain. It sucks the pigment out of the rock as it dries. We peel the crust off, and the stain comes with it.
Piñon Sap Accumulation
Piñon pines drip sticky sap all summer. It lands on the warm stone and hardens into amber glass.
Dust sticks to it, creating black, tar-like mounds. If you scrape these cold, you chip the stone. We use a solvent that chemically liquefies the resin. We wipe the sticky mess away without scratching the polish.
Lichen on Rustic Monuments
This town has many rough-hewn, rustic style monuments. That uneven surface is a perfect trap for lichen.
The lichen roots dig deep. Pulling it off dry damages the surface. We soak it with a biocide to kill the roots. Once it's dead, it brushes off easily. We don't have to scrape or damage the rough stone surface to get it clean.
Hard Water Scale
Irrigation water here is full of minerals. When sprinklers hit the stones, the water evaporates, leaving a hard white calcium scale.
It looks like white concrete covering the lettering. We provide professional grave stone cleaning services to remove this. We use a buffered acid that dissolves the calcium without etching the granite polish.
Service Costs in Santa Fe
We price based on the material (historic vs. modern) and the damage:
- Letter Repainting: Restoring inscriptions faded by high-altitude sun.
- Epoxy Repair: Sealing cracks from freeze-thaw cycles.
- Sap & Berry Removal: Cleaning organic stains from Piñons and Junipers.
- Scale Removal: Dissolving hard water deposits.
We go to the grave. We inspect the condition. Then we give you a price.
