Dry Cleaning - Soon to become restoration???

[oakman29]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

[joeypost]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

If you open a book to read it, it will no longer be in its original state. Would closing the book then be considered restoration

[oakman29]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

If you open a book to read it, it will no longer be in its original state. Would closing the book then be considered restoration

 

C'mon Joey, that's splitting hairs.

[Bomber-Bob]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

[oakman29]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

No kidding.

[joeypost]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

If you open a book to read it, it will no longer be in its original state. Would closing the book then be considered restoration

 

C'mon Joey, that's splitting hairs.

 

I don't see it that way. In this case, I choose to be as dogmatic in my views as you do.

[joeypost]

I don't see how this could be considered restoration.

 

A properly dry cleaned book should have no adverse affect, similar to a properly pressed one.

 

An improperly pressed book will adversely affect the grade, just as damaging a book with improper dry cleaning would also affect the grade.

 

I don't believe either can be detected with enough certainty when properly done.

 

Anything that changes the book back to its original\ or better state should be considered restoration, period.

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

On this I agree. But...there are some out there, who do good work and can keep the spine from getting smashed.

[Bomber-Bob]

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

On this I agree. But...there are some out there, who do good work and can keep the spine from getting smashed.

 

Joey, the problem is not with experienced, professional pressers like yourself, it's the DIY, just bought a press people. I see way too many badly pressed books in the marketplace. An obvious DIY example is where they did not dry clean and simply smooshed the book on high heat. The dirt is literally baked into the book with a tannish, overbaked tone. It looks terrible.

[joeypost]

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

On this I agree. But...there are some out there, who do good work and can keep the spine from getting smashed.

 

Joey, the problem is not with experienced, professional pressers like yourself, it's the DIY, just bought a press people. I see way too many badly pressed books in the marketplace. An obvious DIY example is where they did not dry clean and simply smooshed the book on high heat. The dirt is literally baked into the book with a tannish, overbaked tone. It looks terrible.

 

Again, I agree. While books ARE getting ruined, as a consumer it is easy to take a mental note of who is selling ruined books and no longer do business with them. The same is true of book purchased on eBay or other sites and they arrive with obvious signs of a poor press job., Send them back and put the seller on the list. Will it make your hunt for the type of books you want harder? Absolutely it will, but not impossible.

[Bomber-Bob]

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

On this I agree. But...there are some out there, who do good work and can keep the spine from getting smashed.

 

Joey, the problem is not with experienced, professional pressers like yourself, it's the DIY, just bought a press people. I see way too many badly pressed books in the marketplace. An obvious DIY example is where they did not dry clean and simply smooshed the book on high heat. The dirt is literally baked into the book with a tannish, overbaked tone. It looks terrible.

 

Again, I agree. While books ARE getting ruined, as a consumer it is easy to take a mental note of who is selling ruined books and no longer do business with them. The same is true of book purchased on eBay or other sites and they arrive with obvious signs of a poor press job., Send them back and put the seller on the list. Will it make your hunt for the type of books you want harder? Absolutely it will, but not impossible.

 

Very true. However, I think CGC can help by grading these books harshly. That is why a thread like this, announcing CGC is getting tough on dry cleaning, should be welcomed, not criticized.

[Sqeggs]

 

Unfortunately, the way people press today, it's not changing the book back to it's original state. I never bought a book off the stands with a flat as a pancake spine.

 

On this I agree. But...there are some out there, who do good work and can keep the spine from getting smashed.

 

Joey, the problem is not with experienced, professional pressers like yourself, it's the DIY, just bought a press people. I see way too many badly pressed books in the marketplace. An obvious DIY example is where they did not dry clean and simply smooshed the book on high heat. The dirt is literally baked into the book with a tannish, overbaked tone. It looks terrible.

 

Again, I agree. While books ARE getting ruined, as a consumer it is easy to take a mental note of who is selling ruined books and no longer do business with them. The same is true of book purchased on eBay or other sites and they arrive with obvious signs of a poor press job., Send them back and put the seller on the list. Will it make your hunt for the type of books you want harder? Absolutely it will, but not impossible.

 

Very true. However, I think CGC can help by grading these books harshly. That is why a thread like this, announcing CGC is getting tough on dry cleaning, should be welcomed, not criticized.

 

I don't think there has been an announcement. Seems to just be scuttlebutt.

[VintageComics]

the thing is I think they've always downgraded for poor dry cleaning jobs. They catch paper impregnated with impurities, loss of gloss, missing color, smearing etc. so going forward I'm not sure how they would grade books differently.

[divad]

It would be nice if the hobby went back to just letting books be books and appreciate all of the natural imperfections that occur through common handling of them.

[bounty_coder]

Happy Birthday Divad!

[VegasJeff]

I've seen many examples where the white on the BC cover was dry cleaned and the area lost it's gloss. You would need to look at an angle to really see it. Was this because they left residue = added something or they rubbed away the gloss = subtracted something ?

 

I have people emailing or PMing me all the time stating they are using abrasive cleaners and want to know what they are doing wrong because the book does not look "clean and fresh" when done. So in many instances I would say the gloss is being scuffed. When it comes to dry cleaning, there are no shortcuts.

 

I am seeing this more often on books we receive, and it is very concerning. I have debated about educating everyone on the right materials to use just to see less books damaged, but there always seems to be unforeseen consequences with every action.. TBH, I don't care for dry cleaning myself, so I wouldn't mind collectors cleaning their own books, as long as it is the right way.

 

I'm trying to learn more about identifying restoration/conservation and damage free ways to improve the look of old items. Can someone point me in the right direction? Also, what is this Wonder Bread method I hear about?

[NP_Gresham]

I would be very surprised if they changed their policy on this. It would mean that tons of dry cleaned books would be locked in their current slabs forevermore. That can't be good for business.

Being "locked in a slab forever" has not hurt the Hulk #181 CGC 9.9.

It has sold since it was heavily damaged down to an 8.5, last public sale on CLink was at a record price

[loadstone]

Way I see it. If they can't detect it or it was so well done that they can only suspect something was done but have no means of being certain then it gets graded as an untouched book. If the cleaning job was done poorly it takes a grade hit for the level of damage observed. If it leaves detectable traces or residue of whatever implement or method was used, then it should probably get a conserved grade.

 

This rewards the pros and puts the amateurs on notice to beware of ruining a nice book. As for that grey area where the cleaning can be done perfectly but still leaves a trace, well, to me that should still get a conserved/restored grade since it did something to it to improve it. I know even a good pressing job can kind of fall in there sometimes but hey, you've gotta draw the line somewhere.