Should lightly dry clean this book? 1 1

[Mutant Manatee]

The paper used for comic book covers has a protective coating called "sizing".  By using an abrasive like an eraser to dry clean a book you are removing the sizing from the paper and opening it up to all kinds of paper deterioration down the road.  

From a conservation standpoint you should never use an eraser to clean a comic book cover.

I wouldn't do it.   

[Jeffro.]

13 hours ago, Andthen said:

So there is something wrong with me wanting to clean off dirt that will harm the book later on? Are you um special? 

Why is it surprising to ask an opinion on this matter and on certain books? Cleaning a book only preserves the book and that is all I'm looking to do. Go cry about stupid BS on another site.. 

Btw I know how to clean a book without hurting it at all. I have done it many times before. The dirt in the long run is going to cause damage. I'm never selling the book. I don't sell any of my books. 

 

Jesus I hate temperamental web warriors. 

Easy there, killer. 

[kav]

4 hours ago, Mutant Manatee said:

The paper used for comic book covers has a protective coating called "sizing".  By using an abrasive like an eraser to dry clean a book you are removing the sizing from the paper and opening it up to all kinds of paper deterioration down the road.  

From a conservation standpoint you should never use an eraser to clean a comic book cover.

I wouldn't do it.   

If its a high gloss book I agree -if low gloss, in other words most of the sizing has already been worn off, then sure.  Mostly I clean back covers near spine where sizing is already gone.

[Bomber-Bob]

I've seen many books like this where an attempt to clean 'just the white areas' comes out looking terrible. It is not as apparent in the slab but out of the slab it simply does not look good. To me it's analogous to a CT scraping = it is just so obvious what was done. Call my response 'temperamental' if you want but I agree, what the heck has the hobby come to. It's a nice book, leave it alone.

[ADAMANTIUM]

6 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

I've seen many books like this where an attempt to clean 'just the white areas' comes out looking terrible. It is not as apparent in the slab but out of the slab it simply does not look good. To me it's analogous to a CT scraping = it is just so obvious what was done. Call my response 'temperamental' if you want but I agree, what the heck has the hobby come to. It's a nice book, leave it alone.

I'm right there with you. I understand it is a personal choice and wouldn't harbor feelings of angst. To say that people think eraser's would be an improvement sounds different to me, I wouldn't have thought that would be desired, idk. If it was to remove resto, I'd get it.... but that is me personally 

[Bomber-Bob]

10 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

I'm right there with you. I understand it is a personal choice and wouldn't harbor feelings of angst. To say that people think eraser's would be an improvement sounds different to me, I wouldn't have thought that would be desired, idk. If it was to remove resto, I'd get it.... but that is me personally 

I do like the dry cleaning of a dirty BC spine. It will make the book look a whole lot better. However, that would be done on a complete area. In this case, just doing the white areas withing the artwork will not look good. Rule#1, whatever work you are doing on a book should not be noticeable. 

[VintageComics]

On 5/8/2018 at 10:45 PM, kav said:

cback covers along spine are notoriously grubby and very easy to clean.  You can boost a grade like one point!

Complete malarky. You have no idea what the rest of the book looks like.

Maybe on a 9.8 book but not on books below the NM range. It probably has zero effect on the grade below NM range.

[kav]

8 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

Complete malarky. You have no idea what the rest of the book looks like.

Maybe on a 9.8 book but not on books below the NM range. It probably has zero effect on the grade below NM range.

I disagree that a book with a grimy back cover spine is the exact same grade as the exact book with a spotless back cover spine.

[VintageComics]

1 minute ago, kav said:

I disagree that a book with a grimy back cover spine is the exact same grade as the exact book with a spotless back cover spine.

We're talking CGC grading and not Kab grading, right?

It might look nicer but still stay the same grade.

[kav]

1 minute ago, VintageComics said:

We're talking CGC grading and not Kab grading, right?

It might look nicer but still stay the same grade.

I disagree that two books in the same condition except one has a grimy back cover spine and one has a spotless spine, will be graded at the exact same grade by CGC.  CGC does not ignore defects.

[VintageComics]

Just now, kav said:

I disagree that two books in the same condition except one has a grimy back cover spine and one has a spotless spine, will be graded at the exact same grade by CGC.  CGC does not ignore defects.

They also don't increase the grade every time a book has one defect less, otherwise some books would grade out a CGC 1100.

Certain grades are allowed certain defects and the lower the grade, the more defects allowed in grade.

So that means even removing defects does not necessarily mean the book will increase in grade.

I'm 100% sure of that.

[kav]

2 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

They also don't increase the grade every time a book has one defect less, otherwise some books would grade out a CGC 1100.

Certain grades are allowed certain defects and the lower the grade, the more defects allowed in grade.

So that means even removing defects does not necessarily mean the book will increase in grade.

I'm 100% sure of that.

So a book in the exact same condition as another book, except it has a crease, will not receive a lower grade.  Ok.

[kav]

I dont see how you can be '100%' sure because they 'allow a certain amount of defects' in that grade.  How do you know the back cover grime isnt one more defect than 'is allowed' in that grade?

Edited May 12, 2018 by kav

[Bomber-Bob]

On 5/11/2018 at 7:26 PM, kav said:

So a book in the exact same condition as another book, except it has a crease, will not receive a lower grade.  Ok.

That's not exactly what Roy said but yes, two identical books, one with a crease, one without may grade the same. Let's say a book has a large piece missing and it has a crease. You can remove the crease but, because of the large piece missing, the grade stays the same. The higher the grade, with less flaws on the book, removing a crease can improve the grade. In summary, you are BOTH right.

[kav]

4 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

That's not exactly what Roy said but yes, two identical books, one with a crease, one without may grade the same. Let's say a book has a large piece missing and it has a crease. You can remove the crease but, because of the large piece missing, the grade stays the same. The higher the grade, with less flaws on the book, removing a crease can improve the grade. In summary, you are BOTH right.

Keeping in mind the variables I still believe I am right stating that removing spine grit CAN raise the grade one point.

[Bomber-Bob]

On 5/11/2018 at 7:22 PM, VintageComics said:

They also don't increase the grade every time a book has one defect less, otherwise some books would grade out a CGC 1100.

Certain grades are allowed certain defects and the lower the grade, the more defects allowed in grade.

So that means even removing defects does not necessarily mean the book will increase in grade.

I'm 100% sure of that.

Roy is 100% correct.  So many of you think the grade is strictly analytical, based on the addition and subtraction of 'points'. It's not. It depends on the flaw, with certain flaws allowed in certain grades. Sure, an accumulation of flaws will lower the grade but again, it depends on the specific flaws. 

[Bomber-Bob]

2 minutes ago, kav said:

Keeping in mind the variables I still believe I am right stating that removing spine grit CAN raise the grade one point.

Yes, it can if you are dealing in the uber grades, but not a whole point. It may tilt a 'tweener' to the higher grade. A sloppy job can also result in noticable loss of gloss which can lower the grade.

[kav]

5 minutes ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Yes, it can if you are dealing in the uber grades, but not a whole point. It may tilt a 'tweener' to the higher grade. A sloppy job can also result in noticable loss of gloss which can lower the grade.

I think it can raise a 5.0 to a 5.5 for example.

[VintageComics]

10 minutes ago, kav said:

I think it can raise a 5.0 to a 5.5 for example.

I've seen dirt on 9.2 and 9.4 books with almost no defects to speak about so no way just removing dirt can increase a 5.0 to a 5.5

There are so many defects allowed in the mid grades that the dirt accumulation (and we're talking 'normal' accumulation from stacking and improper storage) would be the least of your concerns.

24 minutes ago, kav said:

Keeping in mind the variables I still believe I am right stating that removing spine grit CAN raise the grade one point.

I didn't say it couldn't. It 'can' but it depends on the rest of the book and the relative grade of the book otherwise.

It will only really affect the grade greatly in the highest grades (9.4+) in my experience.

Once you get into lower grades there are many other things that take prominence and affect the grade and dirt, while still factored into the grade (just as ALL defects are) is not as big a deal as say, a tear or a crease or a popped staple or color loss.

 

[Bomber-Bob]

14 minutes ago, kav said:

I think it can raise a 5.0 to a 5.5 for example.

Now here is where the misunderstand lies. 5.0 to 5.5 is not a whole point, just one tick. I believe both Roy and I thought you meant a full point, like 7.0 to 8.0. This discussion is all about semantics.