When the bust arrived in our workshops ingrained dirt was visible over the whole sculpture, there was pitting present in the marble surface in particular on the hair, face and shoulders.
To remedy this the whole piece was cleaned using a combination of low pressure steam and Laponite RD (a conservation grade, inert gel poultice). The most unsightly pits were filled using an epoxy resin and inert fillers. These were then toned to match the surrounding stone. A coating of wax was then applied to the stone and buffed as a protective layer.