LIST ADMIN - this will be my last posting on this matter, I ask your tolerance for this one. Any further discussion, please send privately. Here is a simple experiment, that anyone with shaving cream can do (I wear a beard, so have none). I suggest that the following be done on a glass bathroom mirror. If residue exists on a smooth mirror, many times more will be left on porous rocks, engraving indentations, etc. 1) spread shaving cream on ONLY the bottom half of the mirror, smearing it on well 2)spray the whole mirror with a plant sprayer, to emulate rain (not direct pressure like a pressure washer) If you think that it takes a while to wash it away on vertical glass, how well would rain do on very porous rock? QESTION 1: how well does it wash away? 3) wipe the shaving cream off with a dry paper towel, WITHOUT touching the area with no shaving cream. 4) spray the whole mirror with water again QUESTION 2: Is there a difference in how the water beads up on the 2 halves, that never had shaving cream, and that used to? 5) steam up the bathroom with a bath or shower QUESTION 3: Is there a difference in how the mirror steams up, between the 2 halves? If you notice ANY DIFFERENCE with question 2 or 3, what caused the difference, if it is not residue? In the interest of having markers that survive for following generations, I highly recommend following the same guiding principal as physicians - " Do No Harm". If in DOUBT, DON'T!! We cannot protect the markers from wind erosion, water erosion from rain, but let's do what we can, by NOT adding additional threats. Ron On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 02:16:30 -0800 (PST), Brock Way wrote: >The idea that shaving cream leaves a residue is >nothing more than opinion. There are ways to >unambiguously scientifically demonstrate the presence >of residue, none of which have ever been done. I have >seen many claims made which hold that shaving cream >harms tombstones - all of them nothing more than >opinion. >Brock Way >Ron Cushman wrote: >Soaps, shaving cream can leave a residue. The residue >may combine with atmospheric polutants to form >solvents. At very least, it provides a favourable >site for biologic entities like lichens, or moss, to >take hold and accelerate their destructive >effects. > >__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! >http://my.yahoo.com > >==== CA-ONT-CEMETERIES Mailing List ==== >READ the taglines! >Before you ask for a lookup ...check >http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~silentguardians/ >In search of site: http://ocml0.tripod.com/ >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx Ron Cushman net-genealogy@rogers.com ON, Canada