A Gravestone How-To

[Rusty]

I was on a quest today. A family friend in Colorado wanted a picture of a gravestone for his genealogical research (and to send to relatives in Ireland that share similar interest). The church cemetery was about 30 miles away, Kansasville near Union Grove for fellow Cheeseheads, so it was an easy drive for me.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/12wdkUwJomQ0Fcaz0U7DbkIPlm9sE_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=12wdkUwJomQ0Fcaz0U7DbkIPlm9sE)

I knew the marker was going to be about 135 years old and assumed it would be quite weathered. I stopped at an "artist supply store" on the way and purchased some charcoal sticks. As it turned out, the resolution, after all these years, was still quite good. Well, I had the sticks so I used them anyway :)

I bought "soft"; they also had "medium" and "hard". If I had to do it over again, I think medium, maybe hard, would have been better. I just wanted to highlight the inscription, just some very light swipes inside each of the letters.

Soft was kinda crumbly... I think something a bit harder would have been better for what I wanted.

The nice thing about this is, it's totally benign -- first rain, it's gone!

If you ever want to do something like this, be prepared :)

Rusty

[kevq]

Rusty,
nicely done. I think the Irish relatives are going to be delighted with it.
Kev.

[lisabee]

that's a useful tip Rusty, that inscription is lovely and clear:).
Your friends will be very happy

Lisa

[JulieM]

Wow, good thinking Rusty! That made a big difference. Funny, I've always seen "RIP" on headstones in cartoons and on Halloween decorations but I don't think I've sever seen it on a real headstone... :rolleyes:

[Cmcburnett]

Rusty, great picture and thanks for the tip about the charcoal. You can find some very interesting quotes and names on the old gravestones,

[NedK]

If the stone is a bit darker than the one you showed, try this. Get an aerosol can of shaving cream and an old windshield wiper blade. Spray
the shaving cream all over the writing, until it fills the letters. Then squegee away the excess shaving cream and you'll have nice white letters. And of course it does no harm to the stone.

[GaryK]

I really have to wonder why you guys have tombstone restoration techniques in your bag of tricks.:eek::D