I know this is an old video. I came across this a few months ago by accident. We suffered some family losses recently in close order, My mum, an Aunt and a Uncle. While talking with my cousins, the topic got to gravestones and how they look tired very quickly. We talked about getting their parents headstone renovated. I later visited my uncle and aunts grave and surely, the gold gilded lettering was cracked, missing and covered in lichen and moss. Another issue was the headstone is polished light grey granite and the gold lettering just really didn't standout. After talking with my relatives I offered to try sort it for them using the technique in this video. With 80% of the lettering cracked but still present in the letters, My first task was to remove all traces of the gilding. This was accomplished by giving the letters a liberal covering of Nitro-mores (paint stripper), once it had time to work, using a nylon scrubbing brush and plenty of clean warm water. I soon have all traces of old gilding removed. It was now time to allow the headstone to dry. Time for food. 30 minutes later i continued into masking the large empty spaces to reduce the amount of cleanup. I then followed the steps in this video and within 2 hours, the stone looks new again, is very easily read and once again the head stone looks well looked after and loved. A massive thank you for sharing this technique. My advise would be take your time, don't rush and do it on a warm and sunny day. THANK YOU.........
Thank you for your videos. My wife and I have a small business doing this and other headstone and bronze monument services. Your videos are very helpful. Please make some more.
That's a great video and demo. Would that work on a stone placed horizontally (required by the cemetery)? Over time, would water pool in the engraved letters, wash out the molasses and lift out the paint in the engraved letters?
We have to say thank you so much for your video. Our dad is terminally ill. His parents' headstone was in very rough shape, with lots of detail we were not sure if this would work or not. We wanted to make it spiffy for the upcoming visitors. We are so very happy with the results and your very clear instructions. Thank you 😊
Can I do this at the Cemetery? Because My Beloved Mom's stone is the flat kind that sits in the ground... And ALL the letters have faded to NO Black at All! So disappointing too. That stone cost us $900 - 7 years ago. And you can't read or see ANYTHING! I'm So upset over that. So hopefully this will work for me. THANK YOU for this amazing Video!
Please could you tell me if molasses would stain a white porous headstone as I would like to do my mums headstone and wouldn’t want to have an orange tint , Thankyou . Also if it would stain , what other product could be used .
Hello there great info. I refilled the lettering on a tombstone with white paint sanding it down very lightly coming out very nice. The problem is when I returned two weeks later the lettering had lifted from the inscription literally coming off. I suppose since it’s outside in the elements with cold and heat the paint didn’t hold that long. Do you know of a specific type of paint that I could use or maybe something I forgot to use. Thank you
There are a few things when painting a headstone. First it needs to be clean no hard water in the lettering, do the cleaning and let it dry in 70 degree weather for a couple of days, then go back and paint the headstone, When you paint the headstones use paint that is an outdoor paint and is made to be used on natural rock or concrete. Follow the instruction in the video. You are correct the weather, outside and a few other reasons could be why the paint came out. We have had this happen to us. When this happened to us we determined the headstone was still wet and the temperatures were below 68 degrees. Thank you for the question Mike Bott Bott & Sons LLC
Should I clean the marker before I do this, or after? It's a double marker that is in great shape other than the lettering, and it is just a little light in very few spots. Than again, the dates are just not the same shades of course. How long will this generally last?
It could take a few months to a couple years for the paint to "fade" to the same shade. It all just depends on how much sun and hard water occurs in your area.
@@BottandSonsMonument Thanks for your response. I am so sorry about the typos, which I fixed..lol. I was apparently falling asleep! I'm glad you were somewhat able to read it. So should I wait until more of it fades to do this? It is in full sun big time. I can go in with a paint brush I guess and fix the date that is bugging me so much. OR do you mean the current paint could take a few years to fade evenly or if I go ahead and do this procedure now since I will be going over spotted spots? I am also pretty sure we have very soft water here and not much water damage. I am in upstae SC and we see just a ton of the black mold/mildew. I wish I could upload a photo.
@@HappierHeadstones If you would like the whole stone to look the same, you should repaint the whole stone as seen in the video. If you have a build up of mold you can use D2 cleaner to take it off.
@@BottandSonsMonument I think I am just going to o the dates. I am going to Wet & Forget now as it really is really ok for now, and then when it gets warmer I am going to tape everything off and just do the dates as those just don't match. That way I will know if I want to tackle the whole thing later with the molasses. So, I will need one of your sandstones I think you called them, for that, right?
Wot do you Use too Actually Clean all the Old Grid..in Where the Old Wording etc Where it's all Fading Away an Chipped in Diff places..💜❤ You must have Some Sort of Solation too Clean it all down aye Tyty Very much if You can mess me With bit info plezz..We doing mi Babys Headstone aye tht neds Repainting an Headstone neds Re Doing aye.. tyty Soo much for all your Help much aroha Ko Aotearoa 😘😘🖤❤🙏🙏
Great question, with every headstone there are a lot environmental causes for the paint to stay longer or come out sooner but on average the paint should last 5 to 15 years.
Hi, I've found your video very informative, is molasses the only material you recommend, as in my country we have this product but in smaller containers, could there be an alternative you could recommend, cheers
@@josiahjury1139 you shouldnt do it on an unpolished stone such as marble, as its porous and there is a good chance where the writing should be, you end up with a blob the same colour as the paint you used. i have seen quite a few marble headstones ruined because people have seen videos like this and just assume you can do this to any stone. Dont get me wrong, this is a good video but he really should have told people to only do this on polished stone.
@@GraveCareMaintenanceServices that's not true. That's what the molasses is for. Granite is also a porous stone. It's just not as soft as marble. The lighter areas on the monument in the video would be just as porous as marble . Most/ A lot of granite is usually polished main finish whereas marble is sawed and sanded
How can I clean rust off of my Grandparents stone. It appears that some type of equipment rubbed against it, leaving a scratch and rust stain. Cemetery Association will not take responsibility, and if I cannot get the stain out myself, I will publicly embarrass them, in order to get some action.
It will not work on marble the Molasses will stain the marble and the clean stone can cause damage to the marble. Great question Thank you. Mike Bott Bott & Sons LLC
I just did my parents head stone in AZ with there headstone cleaner & stone which made my Parents Headstone look brand New !!! Thx For the Video 👏👏👏
Their!
I know this is an old video. I came across this a few months ago by accident. We suffered some family losses recently in close order, My mum, an Aunt and a Uncle. While talking with my cousins, the topic got to gravestones and how they look tired very quickly. We talked about getting their parents headstone renovated. I later visited my uncle and aunts grave and surely, the gold gilded lettering was cracked, missing and covered in lichen and moss. Another issue was the headstone is polished light grey granite and the gold lettering just really didn't standout. After talking with my relatives I offered to try sort it for them using the technique in this video. With 80% of the lettering cracked but still present in the letters, My first task was to remove all traces of the gilding. This was accomplished by giving the letters a liberal covering of Nitro-mores (paint stripper), once it had time to work, using a nylon scrubbing brush and plenty of clean warm water. I soon have all traces of old gilding removed. It was now time to allow the headstone to dry. Time for food. 30 minutes later i continued into masking the large empty spaces to reduce the amount of cleanup.
I then followed the steps in this video and within 2 hours, the stone looks new again, is very easily read and once again the head stone looks well looked after and loved. A massive thank you for sharing this technique. My advise would be take your time, don't rush and do it on a warm and sunny day. THANK YOU.........
Thank you for your videos. My wife and I have a small business doing this and other headstone and bronze monument services. Your videos are very helpful. Please make some more.
That's awesome. Keep watching, we are current making more!
Never heard of that trick. Had an uncle who used an airbrush and masking.
Thanks for sharing your video. God bless.
Thanks for this video now I know how to fix one of our family gravestone
Nice vid-back in the day we used a cut potato where you use molasses , thank you Sir
Amazing! Very cool!
This is a great trick! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
@@BottandSonsMonument I have used this method a few times now! Works great!
I saw someone do this technique but instead of that stone they used what looked like masking tape to get up the paint residue.
Thank you, a very interesting video.
This made me nervous. People will think you are doing graffiti Haha. But what a cool trick!
I tried this method and it worked great. It's very easy to do
Glad to hear that!
Thank you!!
Thats wicked thank you. 😊
You bet!
Really interesting! Hope you post more videos...
(RIP Deanna)
That's a great video and demo. Would that work on a stone placed horizontally (required by the cemetery)? Over time, would water pool in the engraved letters, wash out the molasses and lift out the paint in the engraved letters?
We have to say thank you so much for your video. Our dad is terminally ill. His parents' headstone was in very rough shape, with lots of detail we were not sure if this would work or not. We wanted to make it spiffy for the upcoming visitors. We are so very happy with the results and your very clear instructions. Thank you 😊
So happy to hear that. Thank you.
Lithochrome, acetone, hockey puck and a good rag is all you need. Also it's a good idea to pressure wash the marker and remove the old paint first.
Could you elaborate on your technique?
You are taking a big risk to pressure wash a monument. You do do some serious damage.
Good work
Thanks
I would just use a razor blade after it's really dry.
Can you use other colors with this method? I have some flowers needing redone.
As long as the paint says it bonds to stone you should be good to use it.
Can I do this at the Cemetery? Because My Beloved Mom's stone is the flat kind that sits in the ground... And ALL the letters have faded to NO Black at All! So disappointing too. That stone cost us $900 -
7 years ago. And you can't read or see ANYTHING! I'm So upset over that. So hopefully this will work for me. THANK YOU for this amazing Video!
Hi live in U.K. is a diamond stone the same as a cleanstone? Having trouble finding one thanks
No the diamond stone is not the same, the clean stone is foamed recycled glass and is made here in the U.S..
Great question thank you.
Hi can you use a pumice stone to do this? Thanks from the uk😊
Pumice will scratch granite headstones! We only recommend our cleanstones for cleaning granite.
Please could you tell me if molasses would stain a white porous headstone as I would like to do my mums headstone and wouldn’t want to have an orange tint , Thankyou . Also if it would stain , what other product could be used .
Molasses can stain porous white stone. You are welcome to send a picture of the stone to bottandsons@gmail.com and we can help you with that.
What spray paint did you use for the lettering and polish for the stone
Tim
We use spray paint that is made for masonry, natural rock and outdoor applications, you don't need to use name brand.
Thank you 😊 💓
Hello there great info. I refilled the lettering on a tombstone with white paint sanding it down very lightly coming out very nice. The problem is when I returned two weeks later the lettering had lifted from the inscription literally coming off. I suppose since it’s outside in the elements with cold and heat the paint didn’t hold that long. Do you know of a specific type of paint that I could use or maybe something I forgot to use. Thank you
There are a few things when painting a headstone. First it needs to be clean no hard water in the lettering, do the cleaning and let it dry in 70 degree weather for a couple of days, then go back and paint the headstone, When you paint the headstones use paint that is an outdoor paint and is made to be used on natural rock or concrete. Follow the instruction in the video.
You are correct the weather, outside and a few other reasons could be why the paint came out. We have had this happen to us. When this happened to us we determined the headstone was still wet and the temperatures were below 68 degrees.
Thank you for the question
Mike Bott
Bott & Sons LLC
Ok also do I apply some type of paint sealer after I refill the lettering or design? Thanks
@@regaldonneys876 No please do not apply any sealer they will discolor overtime.
Thank you for the question
Mike Bott
Bott & Sons LLC
Oh ok I’ll do what you recommended. Thanks again
Should I clean the marker before I do this, or after? It's a double marker that is in great shape other than the lettering, and it is just a little light in very few spots. Than again, the dates are just not the same shades of course. How long will this generally last?
It could take a few months to a couple years for the paint to "fade" to the same shade. It all just depends on how much sun and hard water occurs in your area.
@@BottandSonsMonument Thanks for your response. I am so sorry about the typos, which I fixed..lol. I was apparently falling asleep! I'm glad you were somewhat able to read it. So should I wait until more of it fades to do this? It is in full sun big time. I can go in with a paint brush I guess and fix the date that is bugging me so much. OR do you mean the current paint could take a few years to fade evenly or if I go ahead and do this procedure now since I will be going over spotted spots? I am also pretty sure we have very soft water here and not much water damage. I am in upstae SC and we see just a ton of the black mold/mildew. I wish I could upload a photo.
@@HappierHeadstones If you would like the whole stone to look the same, you should repaint the whole stone as seen in the video. If you have a build up of mold you can use D2 cleaner to take it off.
@@BottandSonsMonument I think I am just going to o the dates. I am going to Wet & Forget now as it really is really ok for now, and then when it gets warmer I am going to tape everything off and just do the dates as those just don't match. That way I will know if I want to tackle the whole thing later with the molasses. So, I will need one of your sandstones I think you called them, for that, right?
@@HappierHeadstones The blue bricks do make it lots easier to repaint the headstone. you can buy them at bottandsons.com
Where can I get the foam roller?
Any hardware store the sells painting supplies.
Wot do you Use too Actually Clean all the Old Grid..in Where the Old Wording etc Where it's all Fading Away an Chipped in Diff places..💜❤ You must have Some Sort of Solation too Clean it all down aye Tyty Very much if You can mess me With bit info plezz..We doing mi Babys Headstone aye tht neds Repainting an Headstone neds Re Doing aye.. tyty Soo much for all your Help much aroha Ko Aotearoa 😘😘🖤❤🙏🙏
How long does it last? :) thanks
Great question, with every headstone there are a lot environmental causes for the paint to stay longer or come out sooner but on average the paint should last 5 to 15 years.
Perfect, thank you for replying. I'm planning doing my great grandparents headstone 🤞
would caros syrup work or is molasses the way to go
Caros Syrup should not be use, Molasses is the best and only way we would do the work thank you that was a great question.
Hi, I've found your video very informative, is molasses the only material you recommend, as in my country we have this product but in smaller containers, could there be an alternative you could recommend, cheers
Is this a trick for a specific type of headstone?
@@josiahjury1139 you shouldnt do it on an unpolished stone such as marble, as its porous and there is a good chance where the writing should be, you end up with a blob the same colour as the paint you used. i have seen quite a few marble headstones ruined because people have seen videos like this and just assume you can do this to any stone. Dont get me wrong, this is a good video but he really should have told people to only do this on polished stone.
@@GraveCareMaintenanceServices that's not true. That's what the molasses is for. Granite is also a porous stone. It's just not as soft as marble. The lighter areas on the monument in the video would be just as porous as marble . Most/ A lot of granite is usually polished main finish whereas marble is sawed and sanded
How can I clean rust off of my Grandparents stone. It appears that some type of equipment rubbed against it, leaving a scratch and rust stain. Cemetery Association will not take responsibility, and if I cannot get the stain out myself, I will publicly embarrass them, in order to get some action.
Bob if you could send a few pictures of the headstone that would let know how to help.
Thank you
Mike Bott
I have a family member marble headstone it's has the 4 tellytubbies on it what paint should i use to paint them any help would be appreciated
Any paint that bonds to stone and concrete.
@@BottandSonsMonument what brand or producted?
Would this work on sandstone?
Unfortunately it will not work on Sandstone, Limestone, and Marble.
P0?
Positive recording thk u.
Can i use honey instead
No you can't unfortunately
What kind of paint?
Any paint in a can that says it bonds to rock.
can you do the same with marble
No the molasses can stain the Marble.
How about a marble headstone?
It will not work on marble the Molasses will stain the marble and the clean stone can cause damage to the marble.
Great question Thank you.
Mike Bott
Bott & Sons LLC
Wow I'd be scared in case I fucked it up even worse. 🙃
charming language from a 'Lady'