Bedford Cemetery, Bedford, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Hellen M. Wells (1854 - 1856) - Find A Grave Memorial

Hellen M. Wells (1854 - 1856) - Find A Grave Memorial

Please note, this white marble marker was subjected to the pressure of a Nyalox Brush attached to a power drill.  It is now polished down so much that it has lost its outer skin layer and is smooth.  No graining can be felt with bare hands when touching the gravestone. 

Several white marble monuments and smaller markers have been subjected to this procedure at the Bedford Cemetery. 

Using Nyalox brushes attached to high speed power drills causes irreversible harm to gravestones.  Using these and other power tools is not condoned or endorsed by any recognized well-respected national organization such as the Association for Gravestone Studies or the NCPTT of the National Park Service. 
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Please carefully interview any person or company who you may wish to hire and be sure that they do not use Nyalox brushes on power drills to clean and polish gravestones. 
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Also, please note the sloppy resetting work done between the gravestone and the base.

Sharing A Statement by Mr. Dennis Montagna, Vice President & Conservation Committee Chair of the Association for Gravestone Studies with Information Against the Use of Nyalox Brushes on Gravestones

Sharing this statement from Mr. Dennis Montagna, Vice President & Conservation Committee Chair, Association for Gravestone Studies.

Mr. Montagna's statement in this post is also included on a Page listed on the right-hand column of this blog. 

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Two other statements on this subject, also on the Page, include those from Lynette Strangstad, author of the well-known publication "A Graveyard Preservation Primer" first published in 1988, and now in its second edition published in 2013; and  Mr. Ken Follett, founding member and first president of the Preservation Trades Network   

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Statement from Dennis Montagna - Vice President & Conservation Committee Chair, Association for Gravestone Studies:

Friday, December 12, 2014

Shared with Permission:

"We neither support nor condone the aggressive cleaning of cemetery monuments, whether through mechanical or chemical means. Moreover, in my nearly nearly thirty years in the preservation field, I can't think of a single case in which the use of power-driven brushes made sense as a stone cleaning tool. In fact, Nyalox brushes are typically impregnated with aluminum oxide abrasives, so they would have an especially devastating effect on calcareous stones like marble, limestone and some sandstones."

Dennis Montagna, Ph.D

Vice President and Conservation Committee Chair

Association for Gravestone Studies
https://gravestonestudies.org/

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 Thanking Mr. Montagna for granting his permission to share his statement. 

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Links to the Association for Gravestone Studies appear on the right-hand column of this blog including those for the Ohio Chapter's Facebook Page, and website.