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...So I called CCS today and asked about...(Results In from CPR)
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29 posts in this topic

I recently bought an Astonishing Tales #30 (signature series) signed by the late Rich Buckler.  It is graded a CGC 9.4 in an older case with no grader's notes.  So it arrived last night and I pulled out my loupe and really went over it.  It may very well be a candidate for a CPR to get it to my preferred grade of 9.6 to match the rest of my registry set.  I called CCS and talked to a customer service representative about the book and he suggested that if the signature was anything other than a sharpie, that I not have it cleaned/pressed/resubmitted.  So I'm a bit torn.  I see a couple of bends on the back of the book that would certainly press out and a couple of areas on the white of the spine that could also benefit from a press, but don't want to marf it up completely just because I'm trying to jump from 9.4 to 9.6.  Any thoughts on next steps?  Paul~

Astonishing Tales SS #30.jpg

Astonishing Tales SS #30-back.jpg

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There was a real problem a few years ago with paint pens. For whatever reason, they started to fade and blur within the slab. They looked TERRIBLE. 3 or 4 year old signatures that looked 100 years old. That might be the reason they recommend double-checking. Still, I'm baffled at why this would present a problem for the CCS. Anyone who presses books professionally are prepared to deal with these sort of issues.

Was a real problem with a lot of McFarlane signature books. He was very fond of the paint pens at one point. Lots of facilitators and artists stopped using them. 

Follow this THREAD RIGHT HERE

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Check with other reputable pressers, some of whom are on the boards. You can PM for recommendations, as the CGC frowns upon us promoting competitors. 

There is such a thing as "spot pressing" which would take care of the issue. 

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6 minutes ago, newshane said:

There was a real problem a few years ago with paint pens. For whatever reason, they started to fade and blur within the slab. They looked TERRIBLE. 3 or 4 year old signatures that looked 100 years old. That might be the reason they recommend double-checking. Still, I'm baffled at why this would present a problem for the CCS. Anyone who presses books professionally are prepared to deal with these sort of issues.

Was a real problem with a lot of McFarlane signature books. He was very fond of the paint pens at one point. Lots of facilitators and artists stopped using them. 

Follow this THREAD RIGHT HERE

example.JPG.6a7ab39849a6d4af4d50a0d4c7b7e51a.JPG

well great, now i'm worried about some of my books... :frown:

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Thanks for the comments.  (Should have mentioned in the opening that it is signed in black sharpie).  The paint pen issue is a scary one.  I was big into getting stuff signed by various authors (King, Straub, Rice) in the mid-1990s/early 2000s and went through a paint pen period.  One of the inscriptions from Straub was "...with his Sandford Gold Coat Pen"... which was a huge mess.  Big spots of paint, areas where he had to go back over the inscription.  That was about when my love affair with paint pens came to an end.  Paul~

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On ‎5‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 2:59 PM, ExNihilo said:

well great, now i'm worried about some of my books... :frown:

I would be. Most likely the bulk of the signature is already stuck to the inner well. These pens were the worst idea ever. They look great but NEVER dry completely and remain tacky well after the signing. 

I need to find it, but I have a picture where the entire signature lifted from the book and remained on the inner well. 

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On 5/14/2019 at 1:54 PM, newshane said:

Check with other reputable pressers, some of whom are on the boards. You can PM for recommendations, as the CGC frowns upon us promoting competitors. 

There is such a thing as "spot pressing" which would take care of the issue. 

Though I agree with the 'spot pressing' recomendation, I would not send this book to anyone but CCS. I may but be wrong but if someone else takes the SS out of the slab, I think it may no longer be recognized as an SS book, maybe a green label.  

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1 minute ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Though I agree with the 'spot pressing' recomendation, I would not send this book to anyone but CCS. I may but be wrong but if someone else takes the SS out of the slab, I think it may no longer be recognized as an SS book, maybe a green label.  

You're right Bob! Miraculously, that totally slipped my mind. 

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53 minutes ago, joeypost said:

I would be. Most likely the bulk of the signature is already stuck to the inner well. These pens were the worst idea ever. They look great but NEVER dry completely and remain tacky well after the signing. 

I need to find it, but I have a picture where the entire signature lifted from the book and remained on the inner well. 

If you find the pics you mentioned I'd love to see them - that's crazy to hear an entire sig could be lifted out.  Did it become a blue label after the fact or what happened?

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14 minutes ago, Sensei Ryan said:

If you find the pics you mentioned I'd love to see them - that's crazy to hear an entire sig could be lifted out.  Did it become a blue label after the fact or what happened?

I've seen the horror show. Like Joey said, the paint was tacky and stuck to the inner well after encapsulation. 

Some of the action could have also occurred on the account of the facilitator, I'd imagine. Probably stacked them too quickly. This is speculation on my part, however. 

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Stay away from paint pens my friends. Black, red, and blue markers. Fine. I've also had good luck with silver and gold. 

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I've had a couple of SS books come back with smears and/or smudges from what I'm assuming is a facilitator not letting them dry quick enough before stacking them again but it also could have been from the pen.  Smears/smudges bother me SO much on signatures...it's a tragedy for sure (but nothing sounds as scary as this paint-pen lifting thing).

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1 hour ago, Sensei Ryan said:

I've had a couple of SS books come back with smears and/or smudges from what I'm assuming is a facilitator not letting them dry quick enough before stacking them again but it also could have been from the pen.  Smears/smudges bother me SO much on signatures...it's a tragedy for sure (but nothing sounds as scary as this paint-pen lifting thing).

Yep. High volume guys do stacks of em. Quickly. 

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3 hours ago, joeypost said:

I would be. Most likely the bulk of the signature is already stuck to the inner well. These pens were the worst idea ever. They look great but NEVER dry completely and remain tacky well after the signing. 

I need to find it, but I have a picture where the entire signature lifted from the book and remained on the inner well. 

 

2 hours ago, newshane said:

Stay away from paint pens my friends. Black, red, and blue markers. Fine. I've also had good luck with silver and gold. 

Are these paint pens the same as the gold/silver pens?  All my sigs are from the last 2 years so the books look fine so far.  Also, does the climate of the room in which the books are stored play a role in the degradation of the sig?  All my books are tucked away, in a space with relatively low humidity and the temperature remains fairly constant.

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9 hours ago, Bomber-Bob said:

Though I agree with the 'spot pressing' recomendation, I would not send this book to anyone but CCS. I may but be wrong but if someone else takes the SS out of the slab, I think it may no longer be recognized as an SS book, maybe a green label.  

Not completely true. CGC allows a select few to work on SS books. 

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5 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

 

Are these paint pens the same as the gold/silver pens?  All my sigs are from the last 2 years so the books look fine so far.  Also, does the climate of the room in which the books are stored play a role in the degradation of the sig?  All my books are tucked away, in a space with relatively low humidity and the temperature remains fairly constant.

If they are sharpie pens you are OK. 

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4 hours ago, joeypost said:

Not completely true. CGC allows a select few to work on SS books. 

Yes, I believe you were among a select few to be able to crack open the slab and keep the integrity. Question, is this book worth the effort and expensive to upgrade from 9.4 to 9.6 ? I mean it's not an AF15. 

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Bob,

I hear what you are saying.  If it were a solid 9.4, I'd just be happy to have it in my collection, but as I've looked it over pretty carefully under magnification, I'm leaning towards it possibly being a 9.6 with a clean and a press.  But it is a tough call.  No grader's notes in an older case with no color breaking areas.  There is a bend (not a crease) on the right back corner that would press out and the white on the left edge would also benefit from a press.  I've had very good luck with CPR, so I'm thinking I'll send it in and roll the dice again.  I'll update when it comes back.  Thanks to all (and thanks for the link from Joeypost about the paint pens-very scary stuff) who commented.  Paul~

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