old tombstones and shaving cream?

I requested photos of some very old tombstones from someone in the area. When I recieved them, they had
shaving cream smeared on them to make them readable. The person who took them stated that the stones were
unreadable until they used this "shaving cream trick".

Charani...

8>< snip

This consists of smearing shaving cream on the face of the stone, the cream fills the faint indentions still
left remaining making the stone readable and therefore the photogaph(s) readable. The one who did this insured
me that the shaving cream would not harm the stone. This was after the fact, and if I had known this was going
to happen, I would have gotten more information first. Anyway...

Has anyone heard of this "shaving cream trick" and will this harm the stones in any way?

singhals...

Yes, and I've even used it. Maybe it will harm the stone; depends on a
number of factors only someone near the stone can judge.

People can be fervent about their belief on this issue.

Only you can judge how badly you want the photo.

KL...

My friend just went down to the art store and got some rolls of paper
and took pencils and basically made a stencil of the tombs he was
interested in.

ck183...

I've heard (but never tried) misting the surface of the stone with plain
water and then moving the camera around until it reflects the sky, making
the carving stand out. That wouldn't harm anything but might not work on
all days.

Lesley Robertson...

I've had good results with that by also carrying a powerful torch and
getting someone to hold it so that the light hits the stone at different
angles...

Dave Hinz...

Torch, in this context meaning "flashlight" rather than "flaming thing
powered by a petroleum gas used for cutting", folks. Probably doesn't
need to be said but...

Lesley Robertson

Sir Creep...

Yes. I don't understand (and the photos posted by a couple of you
simply do not bear out) the reason for using shaving cream (yuk) on the
stone. I simply take a spray bottle with water. Another technique
that I've used (when the water isn't getting the job done on old marble
stones, e.g.) and that doesn't 'harm the stone' is to take chalk and
lightly rub on it to lift the images of the words. Kinda like rubbing
a pencil on paper to see what the person wrote, or 'stenciling the
tombs' as was mentioned above.

In any case, why on earth would shaving cream INJURE a piece of granite
(or marble)? Pah-LEEZE. [Ohmigosh! The bonds that hold the rock's

Christopher Jahn...

Because it contains enough stearic acid to dissolve marble in
just a few minutes of contact. Which you'd know if you'd
bothered to follow some of the links in this thread.

Marble is actually very porous and easy to damage.

Just because you THINK a thing won't hurt doesn't mean you KNOW
it.

molecules together will break down in 2,500 years instead of 5,000!
What have I done!?!]
The only thing shaving cream would do to granite or marble is guarantee
that it won't grow whiskers anytime soon ;-)
Mary says that there is DEBATE on this topic. Can't imagine the Mensa
rejects who are on that debate club. I will presume that repeated
battering from rain/wind/snow/heat will eventually do greater damage to
said stone than a single application of Gilette Foamy.

Lesley Robertson...

I suggest that you take a look at my reply in the same thread.
Mind you, it's quite unreasonable to say that the world is round - let's
ignore the professionals on that one as well!
Lesley Robertson

I would like to get second and third (more) oppinions before I request future photos from this individual.

If this is indeed harmful to the stones, I would like to advise this person that they should NOT continue to

Charani...

There is supposed to be something in shaving cream that is harmful to
stones. I would guess it's probably the more porous stones, ie those
that are already weathered to near illegibility, that are the most
vulnerable.

As has been said, it is a hotly debated subject and I doubt that the
person using this "trick" would stop anyway. It's not something that
I would recommend or want done on my behalf/without my knowledge.

do this.

Dave Long