--- title: Bronze Restoration on the USMC Memorial description: The Marine Corps War Memorial has just finished it's first major restoration. Conservators used Sponge-Jet to clean both the bronze and the black granite base. image: https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/USMC%20header.jpg --- - [+1 603-610-7950](tel:+1-603-610-7950) - [Home](https://www.spongejet.com/) - [Log In](https://www.spongejet.com/login) - [Contact](https://www.spongejet.com/contact/) English Espanol Japanese Korean Chinese Deutsch Netherlands Search - Products - Resources - Web Pages Find the best products for your job [![spongejet](https://blog.spongejet.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/logo.png?width=211&height=49&name=logo.png "spongejet")](https://www.spongejet.com/) - [Home](https://www.spongejet.com/) - [How It Works](https://www.spongejet.com/how-it-works/) - [Videos](https://www.spongejet.com/video-gallery/) - [Why Sponge-Jet?](https://www.spongejet.com/why-sponge-jet/) - [Conservators & Historic Architects](https://www.spongejet.com/why-sponge-jet/conservators-historic-architects/) - [Construction & Project Managers](https://www.spongejet.com/why-sponge-jet/construction-project-managers/) - 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The iconic flag raising over Iwo Jima was sculpted by Felix de Weldon then cast from plaster into bronze. The giant bronze pieces were assembled on site. In the nearly 70 years since the memorial was constructed, it’s never had a major restoration — until now. Through the donation of philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, the Marine Memorial was brought back to its former glory with a full [bronze restoration](https://blog.spongejet.com/bronze-cleaning-and-restoration-overview). The wax that had kept the bronze protected since its dedication was failing, exposing bronze patina to the elements. The wax was removed by expert conservators from the [Tradesmen Group](https://www.tradesmengroup.com/) using [Sponge Media™](https://www.spongejet.com/store/sponge-media/). Special care was taken to leave the bronze patina unchanged before the memorial was recoated with new wax.     The black granite base was also cleaned using a different Sponge Media. Mineral staining had built up since the 1950s, showing streaks on the polished stone. The gold lettering on the base had become tarnished. As part of the restoration, old gold lettering was removed and regilded by the [Gilder’s Studio](http://www.gilders.com/). Workers were able to clean the memorial without having their view of the bronze obstructed by dust. This low dust atmosphere allowed conservators surgical precision to clean the detailed folds on the uniforms of the Marines, the complexity of their rifles, and even the camouflage pattern on their helmets. The Tradesmen Group noted, “The experience working with Sponge-Jet on the U.S. Marine Corp War Memorial project was exceptional. When we faced challenging tasks for cleaning both the bronze sculpture and granite plinth base with other cleaning systems we inquired with experts at Sponge-Jet about possible applications of the SJ system on this project. To our knowledge Sponge-Jet had not previously been used to clean patina bronze surfaces or polished granite surfaces on a monument of similar significance. Sponge-Jet provided outstanding onsite technical support that enabled our company to offer betterments in cleaning both the bronze sculpture and granite base over other cleaning methods considered for the project. Sponge-Jet is in a league all to its own.” *Sponge-Jet is honored to have been a part of this historic restoration.* - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [Historic Restoration](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/historic-restoration) [Case Histories](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/case-histories) Search this site on Google Search Google ### Categories - [Case Histories (41)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/case-histories) - [Historic Restoration (35)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/historic-restoration) - [Tech-Terminal (35)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/tech_terminal) - [Executive View (23)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/executive-view) - [Lead Abatement (22)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/lead-abatement) - [Application Station (21)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/application-station) - [Cleaning (18)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/cleaning) - [OSHA (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/osha) - [Safety First (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/safety-first) - [corrosion (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/corrosion) - [Stone Restoration (10)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/stone-restoration) - [Dustless Blasting (8)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/dustless-blasting) - [Fire Damage (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/fire-damage) - [Marine Industry (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/marine-industry) - [Robotica (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/robotica) - [Granite (5)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/granite) - [Coal Slag (4)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/coal-slag) - [Robotic Abrasive Blasting (2)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/robotic-abrasive-blasting) - [Railcar (1)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/railcar) see all ### Recent Posts ### Sign up for our blog. ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/find-rep-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/find-rep-img.png) [Distributor Locator](https://www.spongejet.com/find-rep/) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/white-paper-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/white-paper-img.png) [Resources](https://www.spongejet.com/support/resources-support/resource-library/?k=&type=document-library&document-type%5B%5D=24&searchsubmit=Search+resource) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/online-traing-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/online-traing-img.png) [Online Training](https://www.mytestcom.net/app/myTestcomURL.cfm?accountLogin=SpongeJet123&joinPasscode=SpongeJet123) [![spongejet](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/logo.png)](https://www.spongejet.com/) - - - - - [+1 603-610-7950](tel:+1-603-610-7950) - [Contact us](https://www.spongejet.com/contact/) Phone: +1 603-610-7950 | 14 Patterson Lane, Newington, NH 03801 USA - [© 2015 Sponge-Jet, Inc.](https://www.spongejet.com/copyright-info/) - [Contact](https://www.spongejet.com/contact/) - [Support](https://www.spongejet.com/support/) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.spongejet.com/privacy-policy/) - [Terms & Conditions](https://www.spongejet.com/terms-conditions/)