Conservation practice in Yugoslavia focuses on the removal of plastic layers added to a building facade considered to be part of the cultural heritage. The author points out that complete as the documentation may be, such stratification nevertheless means destruction of a part of the monument substance. The author considers that the conservator's task should be to preserve the original substance of the monument, and arbitrary reconstructions of facade plaster should be avoided. It is possible to remove individual top layers, but the first quality layer that is encountered must be restored and presented, while the lower layers must be left untouched or only traced using minimal trial trenches.