Registered: 09/14/02
Posts: 23374
Loc: Perv Toy Row, San Francisco, C...
Great info, povertyrow! Where'd you learn so much about the topic, just by chatting with other collectors?
Thanks. I got fascinated with the concept of proper conservation restoration around 1985. While no longer in the biz, I was in the 4-color press industry for years and basically "like paper". I read as much as I could on the subject, talked to dealers and collectors, and experimented on junk books at home just to see what would happen if this or that were done, and what signs the "finished product" would reveal. There are some older texts out there that, while not specific to comics, deal with paper. Both restoration and conservation. Restoration doesn't really trouble me a lot. Considering the age of the books I collect - all precode - there is going to be some restoration - some done properly and some done so badly it looks like a five and dime blonde toupee on a guy with black hair. So I also wanted to prepare myself as best I could. Ultimately I spend some time with one of the leading restorers and learned some hands-on techniques in her studio. This really helped in identifying not only what the restoration I am looking at is but how it was done.
Some of it is remarkably benign and some is like radical surgery. I neither condone nor oppose it. It is what it is and is up to the individual to decide how they feel about it. What I am really opposed to is undisclosed restoration of any kind, no matter how slight. The pro restorers provide a detailed checklist of what has been done. Unfortunately, that checklist doesn't always stay with the book, if you get my meaning.
Registered: 09/14/02
Posts: 23374
Loc: Perv Toy Row, San Francisco, C...
What does a tear seal look like? feel like? Is there an obvious way to tell? What about cleaning? Spine unrolling?
A tear seal. There are four main techniques used.
The first (no particular order) is to use glue( preferably archival glue with a neutral PH but no way to tell except to trust in the restorer). Use a silicon release film (aka dry mount release) - it holds up to dry mounting heat and will factor into the spine roll removal below. It is like thick, stiff saran wrap. Place some of the glue on a surface - a paper plate - whatever. You only need a bit. Take a toothpick. Dip it in the glue. Swirl it around the edge of the paper plate (or whatever you put the glue on). Place a small square of the silicon release film under the area you are going to seal. Then carefully lift a torn edge towards you. With the tip of the toothpick, drag the glue along the very edge of the tear. I mean literally only the edge should have a tiny bead of glue. (lots of practice on pieces of paper to get it right). Then hold the two edges of the tear together. It is ok to let them touch the release film - glue won’t stick to it. After a minute or two the seal is done. This type of seal is easily identified as a slightly greyish line along the edge of the tear. The line is usually a slightly twisty line that follows the angles of the tear.
The second - the most acceptable amateur restoration - is to use real archival "tear repair tape" - you can get it in most art supply stores, and just add as small a piece as you can to the tear. Just like using a piece of scotch tape to tape paper together. This is easily detected by a dulling on the side where the paper has been taped and the back side displaying no dulling. (The tape is quite transparent but does not reflect light the same as the plain paper does.)
The third is using Japan Paper and methyl-cellulose or wheat/rice paste. The pastes are basically water soluble fine powders that, when mixed with water, act almost like wallpaper paste. Methyl cellulose is almost "powdered paper" that is also water soluble. Thi8s is applied much like the archival tape. But the Japan paper can be a LOT finer (thinner) than the tape. It can be a bit hard to detect but look for a slightly dull "sheen" that reflects light differently than the rest of the surface.
The fourth is "heat seal" paper. This is very fine Japan paper that is coated on one side with a heat-meltable adhesive (always neutral ph). A "heat iron" - basically a plastic handle that stays cool with a few inches of very smooth metal rod (tapering almost to a point) that gets hot when you plug it in. You can place the heat-seal paper on the tear and gently glide the heat iron over it to seal it. Again, depending on the quality, it can be hard to detect but look for that slightly dull "sheen" that reflects light differently than the rest of the surface.
Cleaning can be VERY difficult to detect. It is usually performed on the cover since the cover is primarily used to determine grade. There is dry cleaning and wet cleaning. Both require very carefully removing the staples and separating the cover from the book. Wet cleaning entails immersing the cover in a suitable bath. Then placing it between sheets of acid-free blotter paper (you can buy acid-free "sketch books" from most art stores - a tip - you can also get alkaline buffered ones that that neutralize airborne acids - they make excellent buffer sheets when framing paper- things like movie posters or lobby cards). Anyway, after the cover is blotted relatively dry - just damp, it is placed between another sheet of acid free paper on the bottom and a sheet of release film on the top (so the heat from the dry mount press does not cause anything to stick). Use lowish - 200 or so degrees - for maybe 15-30 seconds. The cover will be pressed flat, be dry with no dimensional changes, and ready to re-assemble.
Spine roll removal. Not difficult but takes real care. Dismantle the book. Get several sheets of acid free paper and "spritz" them with a plant sprayer or similar thing using distleed water. They should be just damp. Take the interior pages and layer them - damp paper - page - damp paper - page etc. This basically "humidifies" the pages. Then press each page in a dry mount press under low temp with an acid free paper on the bottom and silicon release on the top. This will make the pages flat and remove the spine roll areas. Do this for every page. Take the centerfold. VERY carefully fold it in half (do NOT apply pressure to the center folded edge yet). Align the top, bottom and edges top be sure they are square and then very gently slide along where the fold should be. Repeat for the rest of the pages. Do not make a real impression in the edge. You just want to :"gauge" where the fold should be. The start with the centerfold and add a page. Gently slide along the edge to begin to establish the correct fold. Repeat for the rest of the pages. Then take the "sandwiched" pages and press them - paper below - release above. Next take the cover and do the same thing. Gently align and then make a mild fold along the edge. Then press. Then start adding pages to the cover and finally press the whole book. Last thing is to add back the staples.
This can be very difficult to detect depending upon the degree of spine roll. One thing to look for is a slight dulling of the cover. This can be caused from the "hydration" process of placing the cover between slightly dampened sheets of archival paper. This can remove a bit of the gloss. Also, look to the interior pages for a line - not really a "line" but an "area maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch or so in width - maybe wider for a bad spine roll - but look for a "width" running along the edge of the spine that has a slightly "maneuvered" look. I cannot put it better than that. It is actually an area that reflects light differently because it contains paper that HAS been maneuvered. The bulk of the pages remain intact - it is only the areas that have been rolled then unrolled that display this discrepancy.
Feel free to ask for more details. It is a most fascinating topic.
(edited a few mins later to add "with distilled water" to the spine roll removal process.)
#7271 - 10/08/0212:08 AMRe: How to spot restoration....?
[Re: Povertyrow]
JoannaJoanna Ok, the pen IS pretty mighty. But face it, my keyboard beats the hell out of the pen.
Pedigreed
Registered: 09/13/02
Posts: 5012
Loc: California
I'm still reading, pov, but when I finished the tear section, I had to recheck that Brave and Bold. I now think I know what it is! I'm almost certain it's a fold. A defect in manufacturing kind of thing. There is an identical looking thing on the back cover -- same place, same length -- but neither had any appearance or feel of glue. (the special kinds of restoration were too advanced for what this looked like). Yet there appeared to be a definite line disecting an area that had absolutely no separation. When I realized there was no glue, I looked again, and I'm now certain the cover stock got folded in production, with maybe a millimeter of actual fold, but it's enough to make it appear like a sealed tear, and to feel a raised area on both sides of the front and back cover. It's definitely not a tear seal.
Thank you so much! I'm now going to read about cleaning.
-- Joanna
_________________________ I have a web page! I teach a class in comedy called "Get Funny"! It's available worldwide, so check a school near (or far from) you. And don't forget to read "The Spinner Rack" in the CGC Newsletter. Lots of DC goodness in every column.
#7272 - 10/08/0212:18 AMRe: How to spot restoration....?
[Re: Povertyrow]
JoannaJoanna Ok, the pen IS pretty mighty. But face it, my keyboard beats the hell out of the pen.
Pedigreed
Registered: 09/13/02
Posts: 5012
Loc: California
Wow, all I can say is no wonder CGC is finding restoration when most people can't.
It now makes me wonder: Meth is being characterized as "Mr. Restoration" yet how is he supposed to be able to spot it? Why is he more liable than any other seller? Lots of people sell books here, but if you're selling CGC, you don't have to worry. It's the raw booksellers that have the potential to be 'caught' selling restored books, yet if they're like all but 2% of comics people (it appears), then they wouldn't recognize it either. IOW, someone sold me every book I own. Now, take out the books I bought as a kid and have owned since then, and I still have thousands of books. Not once did any seller tell me a book telling me it was restored. Never. And yet, I wonder how true that is? Not with my beat-up silver stuff -- obviously unrestored (or the restorer was as good at his job as that DD 9.8 guy is at grading). But my golden age books -- I paid a lot of money for those. And I have a doubt or two about some. I'm going to use your post as a guide and relook at several of them.
-- Joanna
_________________________ I have a web page! I teach a class in comedy called "Get Funny"! It's available worldwide, so check a school near (or far from) you. And don't forget to read "The Spinner Rack" in the CGC Newsletter. Lots of DC goodness in every column.
#7273 - 10/08/0212:53 AMRe: How to spot restoration....?
[Re: Joanna]
AnonymousAnonymous
Unregistered
Not only that Joanna, but now I'm going to be accused of silicon film repairs, tear repairs with cellular patches, k-narf rafflings with zorfed-end wraps over easy and swab swibbling endemetriol alterations as well as the more commonly known color touch with all the trimmings!!
#7274 - 10/08/0212:56 AMRe: How to spot restoration....?
JoannaJoanna Ok, the pen IS pretty mighty. But face it, my keyboard beats the hell out of the pen.
Pedigreed
Registered: 09/13/02
Posts: 5012
Loc: California
Now Meth, be honest -- you've been swibbling your zorf-ends all over the place! I've seen the pictures.
-- Joanna
_________________________ I have a web page! I teach a class in comedy called "Get Funny"! It's available worldwide, so check a school near (or far from) you. And don't forget to read "The Spinner Rack" in the CGC Newsletter. Lots of DC goodness in every column.
#7275 - 10/08/0201:09 AMRe: How to spot restoration....?
[Re: Joanna]
AnonymousAnonymous
Unregistered
I can swibble a zorf-end in three slanks flat without even as much as using a kletching pail (almost always used in conjuction with, and as an absolute, recommended necessity for swibbling in temperate climates, by expert swibblers)! Pretty impressive, if I DO say so myself and.....HEY! Wait a minute......it's 5:05 AM EST!!! What are WE doing up while the Board sleeps? Are you up, plotting the downfall of the hobby as well?? Just start swibbling the zorf-ends undetectably like I do and the end of all creation, let alone the end of the hobby, will soon be at hand! Eventually, as your confidence builds, you won't even bother to keep kletching pails around the house!
Registered: 09/14/02
Posts: 23374
Loc: Perv Toy Row, San Francisco, C...
I'm now going to read about cleaning.
Rats - I forgot about dry cleaning (no, not your clothes!). But it is too late now - after 2:00AM here - so tomorrow. Dry cleaning is most interesting.
