Grave Cleaning & Headstone Restoration in Virginia Beach

Restoring Salt-Corroded Bronze and Leveling Monuments in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach is tough on memorials. The salt air here is aggressive. It attacks everything. It strips the finish off the bronze markers in Princess Anne Memorial Park in just a few years. It also damages granite. Salt gets into the granite pores. It breaks the stone from the inside out, causing the polished face to flake off.

The ground is another problem. Most of Virginia Beach is built on sand or reclaimed swamp. The water table is high. When we get a heavy rain or a nor'easter, the sand moves. Heavy monuments sink straight down or tip over because the ground underneath them washes away. Families searching for headstone cleaning services near me call us to lift their sinking family stones and to restore the bronze plaques that the salt air has ruined.

Restoring Salt-Damaged Bronze

The factory clear coat on bronze markers fails fast near the ocean. Once that seal cracks, the salt takes over. The bronze turns a sickly green color and the lettering becomes hard to read.

We restore them on-site. We strip the failing lacquer and the green corrosion down to bare metal. We sand the surface to bring back the gold highlights. We heat the bronze with a torch to drive out the sea moisture. We spray a marine-grade industrial clear coat on the hot metal. It bonds instantly. The plaque looks dark and rich again, and it is sealed against the salt.

Leveling Stones in Sandy Soil

Sand shifts. It doesn't hold weight well when it gets wet. We see monuments tilting because the sand washed out from under one corner. Adding more sand under the stone doesn't fix it.

We fix the foundation permanently. We hoist the monument. We dig out the loose sand and mud. We install a deep pad of crushed, angular gravel. We pack it solid. The sharp rocks lock together. They don't wash away like sand. We reset the stone on this stable pad. It stays level, even if the surrounding ground shifts during a storm.

Killing Coastal Mold and Algae

The humidity here is constant. Black algae thrives in it. It covers the grey granite markers in Colonial Grove, making them look like they were burned. This isn't dirt; it is a living organism rooting into the stone.

We kill it chemically. We apply a biocide that soaks deep into the granite pores. It kills the roots. The black stain turns brown and rinses away. We wash it off. The stone is clean again without using wire brushes, which can leave rust marks in the salt air.

Removing Hard Water Irrigation Scale

Many memorial parks use well water to irrigate. This water is hard. It leaves white calcium deposits on the stones. It builds up a hard crust that hides the lettering.

We dissolve this scale. We use a buffered acid cleaner. We brush it on the white crust. It breaks the bond with the granite. We scrub the residue off and flush it with fresh water. The polish looks new again.

Repairing Mower Scuffs

Mowers run tight to the stones. They hit the corners. We see black rubber marks and chipped granite edges.

We clean the rubber marks with a solvent. For chips, we use diamond files. We grind the sharp, broken edge into a smooth bevel. It looks finished and prevents the mower from catching that same jagged spot again.

Service Costs in Virginia Beach

We don't need to visit the cemetery to give you a price. We have fixed, transparent pricing for all our services, including bronze restoration and leveling. Check our subscription builder to see the exact cost for your plot.