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I am looking to get a book restored--any suggestions on who to choose?
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45 posts in this topic

I was watching a video on youtube the other day, and some guy was showing of some comics that he got pressed, cleaned and 1 had a tiny color tough...

and He kept referring to the person who did as "My guy"...later in the video he confirmed it was NOT some huge professional place, just An experienced Amateur he heard about from other collectors in his area...

Is this normal? can Amateur's do Great work like big professional companies....

are there people out there with the ability to Press and clean comics as well as The Big Companies?

 

this may seem like an odd question but I'm new and Have zero experience in this realm

 

thanks

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It is possible for an amateur to do good work.  There are many fields where an amateur can achieve good results, such as mechanics.  Would I trust them with a valuable book?  Probably not.  A professional would have the ability to cover any liability should something happen to the book.  What kind of guarantee will you get from an amateur?

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On 12/16/2018 at 1:58 PM, EC Phanatic said:

I have a FF4 that has a spine split and some artwork that has been "scrapped" off the cover...I think it would be a good candidate for restoration. Any ideas on who to ask or submit it to for restoration?

I think you know that you want to have the book restored, so just go with your heart on that one!

In terms of who to use, I've had both Tracey Heft (Eclipse) and CCS (through dialogues with Matt) conserve Golden Age books for me (as well as a couple restorations). They both do excellent work, as do many other professional paper conservators. While I am sure there are amateurs out there who do good work, as someone who works with conservators (of many types of media/materials, but non of whom work on comics...) I personally only feel comfortable letting trained paper conservators work on my books.

Good luck!

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7 minutes ago, Frank.Einstein said:

I think you know that you want to have the book restored, so just go with your heart on that one!

In terms of who to use, I've had both Tracey Heft (Eclipse) and CCS (through dialogues with Matt) conserve Golden Age books for me (as well as a couple restorations). They both do excellent work, as do many other professional paper conservators. While I am sure there are amateurs out there who do good work, as someone who works with conservators (of many types of media/materials, but non of whom work on comics...) I personally only feel comfortable letting trained paper conservators work on my books.

Good luck!

The OP already responded that it turns out the book was unrestored, hence the scraping of the cover. I think this book has seen enough. To Restore, UNrestore, and Restore again is just crazy.

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On 1/3/2019 at 6:37 PM, EC Phanatic said:

I have emailed Susan a few times in the recent past...she never responded to any of my emails.....

Did you read and follow the procedures listed on her website? 

Here

She charges $100 an hour. The book you mention, quite frankly, isn't worth her time or your expense. 

IMHO, she is the best. She's too busy to be kickin' the tire around. 

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I mean, it's simple...you send her the book and $50 bucks and you get an estimate. 

Anyone worthwhile will want to see the book in hand before giving a binding estimate, and the reason should be self-evident. 

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With all that said, let me apologize for my tone. :sorry:

I think there are a lot of great suggestions, and Susan is but one of a handful of great people in the field. But I do find it unfortunate that she doesn't respond. I don't tend to do business with those types...

But it sounds like her procedure is pretty clearly stated. 

It's your book, and I support your decision to do whatever you wish with it. 

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On 1/5/2019 at 6:22 AM, billbrown7080 said:

I was watching a video on youtube the other day, and some guy was showing of some comics that he got pressed, cleaned and 1 had a tiny color tough...

and He kept referring to the person who did as "My guy"...later in the video he confirmed it was NOT some huge professional place, just An experienced Amateur he heard about from other collectors in his area...

Is this normal? can Amateur's do Great work like big professional companies....

are there people out there with the ability to Press and clean comics as well as The Big Companies?

 

this may seem like an odd question but I'm new and Have zero experience in this realm

 

thanks

I've done amateur restoration on non valuable books. Like with anything, if you practice enough and figure out what works and what doesn't then you can become pretty good at it. Even the pro's had to learn how to do it at some point.

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On 12/27/2018 at 11:44 PM, ninanina said:

Maybe there's someone local who is capable of restoring it? Talk to some local comic shop owners as they might know someone. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of it probably being less stressful having someone local do it rather than mailing or shipping it out to someone out of town. I live in Winnipeg and know we have a local guy that's very capable and would pick him over anyone out of town. Another advantage is you would be able to see some samples of his work before you decide on whether you will be happy with his/her work.

:wishluck:

If we are thinking of the same guy in Winnipeg, he is top notch. A trained conservator. He's worked magic (both conserving and restoring) on many of my GA books.

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We probably are. If I was interested in finding him, I know Doug Sulipa would be able to help me get in touch with him. I have a Fantastic Four #1 I bought from Doug years ago that he restored and the work was absolutely perfect.

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I will post pics soon....I disagree about Susan...she has restored a few books in the past for me that weren't even as "valuable" as this book...I had a Weird Tales of the Future 2 (which I paid $300) she restored years ago...and it got a 5.0 from CGC....Here is Susan's problem..IMHO---she get's a lot of emails...she has a lot of work...She has a kid with autism....she is busy..I honestly think she is in all of this for the money...go and research her posts a few years back on this forum...you will see she came here and disappeared quickly--trying to drum up business..--the pressing agenda as well....At the very least she could have responded  to me....TWICE  --two different books i emailed her....  ..check her site...look at some of the books....and even cheap centerfolds she restored....Plus her work has gotten sloppy over the years.   For her it is about money and convenience
'valuabkl

Edited by EC Phanatic
garmmur
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On 1/14/2019 at 4:54 PM, Bomber-Bob said:

The OP already responded that it turns out the book was unrestored, hence the scraping of the cover. I think this book has seen enough. To Restore, UNrestore, and Restore again is just crazy.

Well....life is relative and people have certain things they want...Can you imagine someone paying thousands of dollars for an original Beatle's album they had as a kid? Not all of us are rich...not of all us have the same tastes. This comic hobby has turned into a financial mess...we get judged often on what we buy and what we can potentially make money off of...You know what....screw that...what drives these prices...what drives these books are people like me...we simply love the damn things without reason...so go judge me and others..I dont care,,,

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9 hours ago, EC Phanatic said:

Well....life is relative and people have certain things they want...Can you imagine someone paying thousands of dollars for an original Beatle's album they had as a kid? Not all of us are rich...not of all us have the same tastes. This comic hobby has turned into a financial mess...we get judged often on what we buy and what we can potentially make money off of...You know what....screw that...what drives these prices...what drives these books are people like me...we simply love the damn things without reason...so go judge me and others..I dont care,,,

I understand your passion for the books themselves. But as with anything else, it pays to do a little research first. There is a lot of good information here on who to contact to get your book RE-restored. Good luck with your project. I hope you find happiness. And I've always loved that cover...who wouldn't love a cover where the Thing is wearing boots?  (shrug)

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13 hours ago, EC Phanatic said:

Well....life is relative and people have certain things they want...Can you imagine someone paying thousands of dollars for an original Beatle's album they had as a kid? Not all of us are rich...not of all us have the same tastes. This comic hobby has turned into a financial mess...we get judged often on what we buy and what we can potentially make money off of...You know what....screw that...what drives these prices...what drives these books are people like me...we simply love the damn things without reason...so go judge me and others..I dont care,,,

It's funny you made your analogous comment about a Beatles album as that was me maybe 15 years ago. Big, Beatle collector, trying to recreate his youth. I finally focused on just comics. My comment wasn't directed at the financials at all, just concern for the book itself. I mean, how much 'abuse' can a book take. Spend your money, as much as you want, on an original copy that hasn't been tampered with. With another restoration, this book will simply be a re-creation. 

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On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 8:24 PM, EC Phanatic said:

here....she "restored" A Thor annual from 1989...so dont talk to me about what I have and if it is acceptable.....My FF4 IS MORE  valuable than a Thor album from the late 80'S...GO AHEAD....see it on her website...

85.jpg

Let me see if I have this right. You're stating that you not only paid for postage to send a lower grade Thor annual 14 to Sue for restoration, both ways, but also paid Sue to restore it? And she accepted the job? And charged you $100 per hour for her work on this? If that is correct, what was the starting grade of the book and the approx. finished grade? Did you also submit it for grading post restoration?

Edited by James J Johnson
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On 12/21/2018 at 8:00 PM, EC Phanatic said:

How about you remove the money equation....what if this book has sentimental value...why is everyone so concerned about value? Why can't I choose to pay to get something restored regardless of whether it makes sense money wise? Yeah...I get it...but what if I WANT a high grade copy of this book regardless of whether I loose money or not? Why are all the comic restorers so focused on value? Why can't I just say..."hey....you want money?  Please restore this book because I use to have this book as a kid and it means something to me emotionally....."  This book also has a small split spine.....I think it would look gorgeous restored...it may not make logical sense money wise...but who cares? I am willing to pay for it.....everyone is so concerned on value and worthiness...what if I don't care? 

Then maybe you should have mentioned that in your original post? People are trying to be helpful in your absence of information.

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