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Experiment in Restoration Removal, was it worth it?
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52 posts in this topic

On 9/24/2020 at 1:10 PM, miraclemet said:

So here we are. 

The experiment. 

Buy a color touch (C1) book, get the color touch removed and see how much of a grade drop it gets as a result. 

Doing this with a Sig Series book since some of the books value exists outside of the book condition but with who signed it, lets see if this helps me still come out ahead. 

The book in question is a CGC SS 9.0 ASM 129 with 3 signatures (Romita/Thomas/Conway)

Paid $900 which seemed ok in terms of GPA. 

I know that it's gonna drop in grade because in order to remove the color touch they will have to scrape it off. The hope is it stays above a 6.5 which for me would be break even. 

Good luck with the experiment!

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2 hours ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Thanks for finding it.  I think that's the one I am talking about.

get-attachment-3aspx_zps70fae3ea.jpeg

That's my FF 1.  I believe it was a 5.0 restored (maybe more?) and it went down to 3.0.  The white line is very striking, but I still like it and feel like it was worth taking the risk on.  I had to resubmit it twice (when you have CT removal done you want to remove as little as possible).  It looked a LOT nicer after the first attempt, but unfortunately it needed extra scraping.  Such a shame..... it's a nice book with a fantastic spine.  Even though the white line is horrible, value wise it was still smart to get this into a Blue label.

Edited by gadzukes
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Here's a better example that matches what the OP is trying to do.

This Sgt Fury of mine was a 9.0 C-1 Purple with 5 spots of CT on the spine.

The CGC notes said the CT was only on the spine so it let me know where to focus.

The 5 spots were all tiny bleed thrus, so what looks like spine tics in my photo are actually scrapes with the middle of the scrapes going all the way thru.  It really doesn't look that bad in hand, and overall I think this comic looks great.  

9.0 Purple down to 7.5 Blue is a trade off I will take every time.

1.jpeg

Edited by gadzukes
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Miraclemet..... have you spotted the CT on the cover?  The CGC notes for the comic might give you a clue of the location (probably spine).  I'd take a jeweler's loupe and examine the comic as good as you can.  If you spot ANY CT away from the spine then you probably shouldn't even crack the comic out of the holder (because there might be CT hidden all over the comic).

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mm, I hope it turns out for you if you move forward.

I have thought about this on a few of my books to either have small CT removed or a tear seal opened but never have tried.  I looked at GPA and it would most likely play to my benefit and there is just such an unfortunate aversion to GLOD and PLOD labels. 

I wondered too where the book might land that using just a grade comparison may not be enough.  For example, I believe that not all 5.0s are the same as far as presentation and marketability.  A piece out of the BC compared to the FC is most likely more marketable.  I also thought about how many copies are on the census and the more in a suspected grade probably played against me since there may be more for sale at that grade and may be more presentable. 

Too many variables for me but the temptation is still there.

Good luck.

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4 hours ago, gadzukes said:

That's my FF 1.  I believe it was a 5.0 restored (maybe more?) and it went down to 3.0.  The white line is very striking, but I still like it and feel like it was worth taking the risk on.  I had to resubmit it twice (when you have CT removal done you want to remove as little as possible).  It looked a LOT nicer after the first attempt, but unfortunately it needed extra scraping.  Such a shame..... it's a nice book with a fantastic spine.  Even though the white line is horrible, value wise it was still smart to get this into a Blue label.

So was the color touch just a line that someone drew across the cover? It doesn't seem like that would be CT since it's not there as a form or restoration, more like when someone scribbles on a cover or writes their name. (shrug)

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1 minute ago, MatterEaterLad said:

So was the color touch just a line that someone drew across the cover? It doesn't seem like that would be CT since it's not there as a form or restoration, more like when someone scribbles on a cover or writes their name. (shrug)

Was most likely a hard crease that had spots of CT along the crease. Seems mainly colored areas are affected as there would be no need to touch up the white areas. 

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6 hours ago, gadzukes said:

Miraclemet..... have you spotted the CT on the cover?  The CGC notes for the comic might give you a clue of the location (probably spine).  I'd take a jeweler's loupe and examine the comic as good as you can.  If you spot ANY CT away from the spine then you probably shouldn't even crack the comic out of the holder (because there might be CT hidden all over the comic).

Could it be on the black edge line by The Punisher's rt foot? Looks a little wonky.

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6 hours ago, gadzukes said:

Here's a better example that matches what the OP is trying to do.

This Sgt Fury of mine was a 9.0 C-1 Purple with 5 spots of CT on the spine.

The CGC notes said the CT was only on the spine so it let me know where to focus.

The 5 spots were all tiny bleed thrus, so what looks like spine tics in my photo are actually scrapes with the middle of the scrapes going all the way thru.  It really doesn't look that bad in hand, and overall I think this comic looks great.  

9.0 Purple down to 7.5 Blue is a trade off I will take every time.

1.jpeg

This is a good example of my anticipated result... We shall see.

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5 hours ago, miraclemet said:

This is a good example of my anticipated result... We shall see.

Keep in mind that this cover lends itself uniquely well to the scrapes, which at first, look like deliberate artwork! Like white channels in the walls of the black building! It's the aesthetic antithesis of the FF 1 scrape line which stands out in bold relief immediately as a book-length scrape. Certain books, due to color/artwork will lend themselves far better than others once considering where they need to be scraped. 

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Fedex just stoped by, here are the results...

Grader Notes: 

light spine stress lines breaks color
small crease right top of back cover
small piece out right bottom of front cover
small scuff left bottom of front cover

 

And the money shot:

 837235734_moneyshot.thumb.jpg.92bd21d7d1a6d56b3a0f0a747c13724c.jpg

CGC 7.0 SS Romita/Thomas/Conway

Edited by miraclemet
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The spine was as you can guess the main color touch culprit.  That black line going down the edge of the cover is just to tempting for a sharpie I guess. 

Here are the shots with the removal of the CT. 

668303878_spine2after.thumb.jpg.4c28b5c13a7b800acd5980b8d648e084.jpg

1185999041_spine3after.thumb.jpg.6db0a7184a57639084c64854b22ff01c.jpg

939554112_spine4after.thumb.jpg.bff6369a8ef36cef03fe5730188e923c.jpg

As expected. the boot was the longest line of touch, with a decent bit up at the top of the sine as well. One small chunk out of The Punisher's forearm at the spine. 

Spine after.jpg

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