In reply to cragnag:
What an idiot. I can't speak for hard sandstone, but as for soft southern sandstone, the outer shell is formed over hundreds of years due to weathering, so it isn't solid rock in the same sense as limestone etc.
If Crankmeister didn't wish to appear such a tw*t, he could have googled sandstone ethics and discovered why certain areas have the ethics they do. If we wire brush the hard outer casing it will wear and expose loose sand underneath (i.e. make it unclimbable).
Yes, soft sandstone can be very hard climbing and lowering your grade can be a good starting point until you are familiar with the rock. If you need to wire brush holds then you are climbing above your level. Dogging the shit out of routes is not advised due the rope grooves it makes below the anchor points. For this reason static is more suitable than dynamic rope also.
Blowing sand or dirt out of holds is acceptable, as is giving it a slap with a towel. If idiots like *ankmeister could find it in themselves to leave their ego's at home and be intelligent enough to learn local ethics and have some respect for them, many great climbs might still be enjoyed in many years to come.