"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 21:30:56 +0100, "andrewpreece"
wrote:


Neat bleach will almost certainly improve them.

Do you suggest we 'soak' the chippings Andy and if so for how long
(roughly)?

ie, Is this something we could do there or when at home?

All the best ..

T i m

You could do it there, but I am sure if some busybody saw you they'd
invoke the Health and Safety at Work Act and the CoSHH regulations,
so don't make it too obvious! Also neutralise the bleach with water when
you've finished. It may take an hour for full effect, though probably an
improvement will be seen in less time than that.

My experience is based on cleaning up some local limestone I had
lying around in my garden as edging: I wanted to use it to build a stone
wall, and found that although mud would come off with water and a
good soaking and bit of a scrub, the general patina of ages wouldn't budge,
it being mainly a mixture of surface moulds ( not lichen ). Neat bleach
seems to annihalate this stuff and bring the underlying colour back.
As an aside, I got the same effect accidentally when a windfall apple came
to
rest on one of the aforesaid edging stones: when I removed it to compost it,
the stone underneath was restored to full colour.

I expect that was due to fruit acids. I expect tomato juice, HP sauce or
allsorts
might work, but at least with bleach it's easy to wash off afterwards.
Don't dilute the bleach, use the thick stuff, wear gloves, don't get any on
your
clothes and have sufficient water with you to clean up afterwards.

Nice to see someone taking care of the appearance of their relatives' grave.

Good luck,

Andy.