Do/Can you clean/press sub mid-grade books? 0

[jmt999]

I've watched a lot of videos on people cleaning and pressing books and they are always books that are in really nice shape and the clean/press just puts them over the top or significantly improves them. So let's say you had a 3.0 silver age book that was worth $500, can that book be cleaned/pressed and possibly have it bump a .5 grade or more? Or is that not possible because it's already a 3.0 and you can't really improve books like that? Thanks for the info.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Yes.

[jmt999]

Ok that's great news. It must not be very popular because I don't see anyone doing it, but I will move forward with getting it done then. Thanks.

[Jeffro.]

1 hour ago, jmt999 said:

I've watched a lot of videos on people cleaning and pressing books and they are always books that are in really nice shape and the clean/press just puts them over the top or significantly improves them. So let's say you had a 3.0 silver age book that was worth $500, can that book be cleaned/pressed and possibly have it bump a .5 grade or more? Or is that not possible because it's already a 3.0 and you can't really improve books like that? Thanks for the info.

Well, it depends on the defects and whether they are pressable defects or not.

You could press a comic with stains and a piece out of the cover and then it would (possibly) look like a nicer comic with stains and a piece out of the cover but would the grade actually improve? 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Erik Thorvaldsson

[William-James88]

14 hours ago, jmt999 said:

I've watched a lot of videos on people cleaning and pressing books and they are always books that are in really nice shape and the clean/press just puts them over the top or significantly improves them. So let's say you had a 3.0 silver age book that was worth $500, can that book be cleaned/pressed and possibly have it bump a .5 grade or more?

 

Yes, for sure. That's why pressing is now almost a standard for all big key books. With a press being a small cost compared to the potential reward of going up .5, it's a bet many are willing to take. I find it especially crucial for a midgrade book, like a 6.0 that could become a 7.0 with a big non colour breaking crease now removed, since that's where you usually see a massive jump in vintage comics (like all the fantastic four key comics).

[joeypost]

On 7/6/2020 at 10:15 AM, jmt999 said:

I've watched a lot of videos on people cleaning and pressing books and they are always books that are in really nice shape and the clean/press just puts them over the top or significantly improves them. So let's say you had a 3.0 silver age book that was worth $500, can that book be cleaned/pressed and possibly have it bump a .5 grade or more? Or is that not possible because it's already a 3.0 and you can't really improve books like that? Thanks for the info.

A large portion of the books I work on are 5.0 and under. It’s not always about the 9.6 to 9.8 bump. 
 

When assessing a book it is all about risk vs. reward.

[comicginger1789]

25 minutes ago, joeypost said:

A large portion of the books I work on are 5.0 and under. It’s not always about the 9.6 to 9.8 bump. 
 

When assessing a book it is all about risk vs. reward.

This is 100% correct. Knowing what can and cannot be pressed is the key.