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Should I add tape to the spine of this low grade Wonder Woman 55
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Started by William-James88,

19 posts in this topic

William-James88

William-James88

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Posted (edited)

Hey all! I just recieved a Wonder Woman 55 for very cheap due to a detached cover than is almost split in half. I swear, if I open the book again I am pretty sure it will be fully split with less than half an inch keeping it together.

So I was thinking, should I add some tape to the spine to prevent that from happening?

It's something I never thought I would do, but would it grade higher with the tape and not fully split (ex:2.0)  than fully split (ex:1.5)?

 

So let me know what you think.

 

 

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Edited by William-James88
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Sauce Dog

Sauce Dog

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Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, Demroth said:

archival tape. Just check the reviews.

This here is maybe the cheapest and most accessible option (you can find it at many local craft stores). I use that same Lineco 1 Inch X 98 Feet. tape on some old extremely damaged comics to hold them together, it is very easy to remove if you want to reverse the 'restoration' (though I would avoid applying it to brittle or other low quality areas that are flaking, and always use the smallest amount possible - like cutting small hinges)

Edited by Sauce Dog
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Qalyar

Qalyar

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I would not attempt to apply archival tape on your own. You are not a trained conservator, and it's entirely possible to make things much, much worse even with conservation-grade archival tape. Honestly, I think you have two options here.

  1. You can keep the comic as it is now. Store it properly and it's not likely to get worse than it is now. Don't use this as a reading copy unless you want it to end up that way.
  2. If you think that the comic is in significant danger of deterioration, that's literally what professional conservation work is for. Respectable conservation workers should be willing to work with you to perform only reversible (archival tape, etc.) work rather than spine stitching and the like. Either way would earn you a PLOD if you had a subsequently slabbed, but that's the trade off.

Do-it-yourself "restoration" is potentially the worst of both worlds.

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Qalyar

Qalyar

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12 hours ago, SSkufan said:

So not to go too off topic, but if you use archival tape can you easily remove it and how does that impact the grade?

As a quick summary here. All "real" archival tape is intended to be reversible. That is to say, it is intended to be possible to remove the tape without damaging the paper or leaving any adhesive residue. The process of reversing archival tape application varies based on the tape being used. Some reverse with water, some reverse with heat application, and some reverse with particular solvents. No archival tape can just be pulled off. Some papers and inks make this whole process more challenging; Lineco's Transparent Mending Tissue is probably my usual choice for commonly available material, but it is reversible with mineral spirits, which may not be compatible with some books. Remember that evidence of solvent exposure will get you a restored grade in and of itself. Is that material a good choice here? I don't know. I'm not a conservator. Professional conservators may or may not even use any of the commercial products, opting to pair custom selected taping material and adhesive to meet the needs of the individual product.

Additionally, brittle or flaking paper can complicate the removal process (and makes safe application of the tape more challenging). I'm not going to pretend that taping a simple tear is a particularly difficult or error-prone process, but taping a cracked spine is harder, and you can easily end up with your book in a worse state that you started. This is a skilled trade, after all.

As for grading: Obviously, a book with conservation repairs is a restored book and will get a purple label if slabbed. The goal, of course, is to get an A1 restoration grade (for conservation repairs, rather than pure aesthetic reconstruction). Beyond that, and what sort of numeric score you'd get from CGC with a nearly-split spine versus a conserved spine versus an entirely failed spine... I'll leave to more experienced members.

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MSGComics

MSGComics

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6 hours ago, Qalyar said:

As a quick summary here. All "real" archival tape is intended to be reversible. That is to say, it is intended to be possible to remove the tape without damaging the paper or leaving any adhesive residue. The process of reversing archival tape application varies based on the tape being used. Some reverse with water, some reverse with heat application, and some reverse with particular solvents. No archival tape can just be pulled off. Some papers and inks make this whole process more challenging; Lineco's Transparent Mending Tissue is probably my usual choice for commonly available material, but it is reversible with mineral spirits, which may not be compatible with some books. Remember that evidence of solvent exposure will get you a restored grade in and of itself. Is that material a good choice here? I don't know. I'm not a conservator. Professional conservators may or may not even use any of the commercial products, opting to pair custom selected taping material and adhesive to meet the needs of the individual product.

Additionally, brittle or flaking paper can complicate the removal process (and makes safe application of the tape more challenging). I'm not going to pretend that taping a simple tear is a particularly difficult or error-prone process, but taping a cracked spine is harder, and you can easily end up with your book in a worse state that you started. This is a skilled trade, after all.

As for grading: Obviously, a book with conservation repairs is a restored book and will get a purple label if slabbed. The goal, of course, is to get an A1 restoration grade (for conservation repairs, rather than pure aesthetic reconstruction). Beyond that, and what sort of numeric score you'd get from CGC with a nearly-split spine versus a conserved spine versus an entirely failed spine... I'll leave to more experienced members.

Thanks!!!

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William-James88

William-James88

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On 4/3/2020 at 1:00 PM, Qalyar said:

Beyond that, and what sort of numeric score you'd get from CGC with a nearly-split spine versus a conserved spine versus an entirely failed spine... I'll leave to more experienced members.

A lot of my question relies on this and I would be curious as to know the answer if anyone has any insight.

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Topnotchman

Topnotchman

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Posted

If the cover is becoming fragile where touching it causes it to break and split.  Even adding archival tape to hold it together, I do not envision the tape ever being removed as the cover is brittle.  

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