Revealed: Advanced Comic Book Cleaning, Deacidification, and Resizing Methods
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- In this video i go more in-depth on wet cleaning, deacidification, and resizing than we usually get a chance to do on our conservation videos. I discuss these three methods, what they are, when you should use them, and some practical applications of how I use them in comic book conservation.
These techniques should result in either blue Universal label or occasionally Conserved label but in my experience when executed properly do not trigger purple or restored label from CGC.
#comicbooks #comicbookcollecting
#comicbookcleanandpress #comicbookconservation #comicbookrestoration #comicbookdrycleaning #comicbookwetcleaning #goldenagecomics #goldenagecomicbooks #silveragecomics #silveragecomicbooks #comicbookstainremoval #methylcellulose
List of materials and tools I use for cleaning and pressing comic books and links to purchase them on Amazon:
Resource Books
Comic Book CPR: amzn.to/3OVR9fe
Comic Book Stain Removal and Whitening: amzn.to/3d9kPIE
Comic Book Pressing and Cleaning: A How To Guide: amzn.to/3BRu4Hw
Equipment
Tusy Press: amzn.to/3YqNzjt
10X Magnifying lamp with LED ring light: amzn.to/3XTnPMH
UV LED Flashlight for detecting Restoration: amzn.to/3SGrSbh
3M P95 Respirator for use with organic solvents: amzn.to/3DdqE1B
Dry Cleaning Tools
Pentel Clic Eraser that i prefer: amzn.to/3A7d5jo
Refills for Pentel Clic Eraser: amzn.to/3p9kSHe
Staedler Mars Vinyl Eraser: amzn.to/3BUGDC1
Prismacolor Magic Rub White Block Eraser: amzn.to/3zNq5Ju
Kneaded Eraser: amzn.to/3bHeQdL
Absorene Putty: amzn.to/3djmxr4
Mini Eraser: amzn.to/3QhxAzE
Prismacolor Art Gum Eraser: amzn.to/3JGchoQ
Dotting tools for hand-working creases and dents: amzn.to/3Abampe
Sticker Removal Tool: amzn.to/3Pbg2Uj
LEDs for Photo Bleaching: amzn.to/3AaEb9d
Galvanized Wire for making staples: amzn.to/3QNXZol
Magazine Backer Boards: amzn.to/3S6h6KQ
65 lb Card Stock: amzn.to/3MwBtQa
Strathmore Bristol Paper for pressing: amzn.to/3qAQb1q
Aluminum plate for pressing: amzn.to/3EDDZlv
Crepe Square Eraser: amzn.to/3Dlq4ym
Wet Cleaning Tools
Un-Du: amzn.to/3dmQSok
Mister spray bottle, darkened for H2O2: amzn.to/3nqKT70
Photography tray for wet cleaning: amzn.to/3dgpUyQ
Non-woven polyester sheet or Remay for wet cleaning: amzn.to/3ZpnOPB
Ultra-Fine Stainless Steel Forceps: amzn.to/3N806CJ
Stainless Steel micro-spatula: amzn.to/3W0EBIc
Teflon-coated micro-spatula: amzn.to/3JGyJ19
Methyl Cellulose: amzn.to/3QhfL3y
Wheat Paste: amzn.to/3MXL2s2
Calcium Hydroxide: amzn.to/3zHXs0p
Bestine Solvent: amzn.to/3VpyYDi
Triton X-100: amzn.to/3GGg0Ch
Slabbed Comic Books for sale on Shortboxed:
Shortboxed.com/...
My eBay Store (raw comics & more!):
www.ebay.com/u...
Dont say how much calcium hydroxide do you add to how much water to create your milk of lyme solution.....
Correct. Because it's super-saturated. Minimum is about 1 cc per liter if you are using metric measuring spoons or 1/4 teaspoon if you are using imperial. You can of course use more, since we are making a super-saturated solution. By definition, as long as you have white precipitate on the bottom after it settles, you have a super-saturated solution, which is why i don't measure it out and didn't provide an exact measurement here.
@@DrPaulKosnik great thank you
Fantastic video, can't believe a tad is an actual measurement.
I've been wanting to do this but I needed it laid out for me like you have done in these videos I'm so glad I've found them I'm very excited
Right on Jay! Good luck In getting started and be sure to check out our Facebook group the Comic Book Conservation Community for help, support, and encouragement.
Another absolutely amazing informative video! I especially liked the information on the resizing! You are a constant teacher for me. Thank you so much!😊
This is why a collector needs a background in basic chemistry before they start Ca(OH) washing their vintage comic covers. Great video. Lots to learn or refresh one's knowledge.
Chemistry meets practical application meets total nerd for modern fantasy, love this channel! I’ll send my comic to you for treatment!!!
Outstanding
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. 👍🏽
wow..... good stuff!
Great video Dr. Paul. I had decent success cleaning a tanned cover i was practicing on this past weekend using distilled water only. Thanks for making these videos.
Another great breakdown Dr. Paul!
Happy Labor Day.
Your info on sizing was a revelation! This explains why the more stained and worn parts of comics seem to absorb water (darken) more readily - the staining can also remove the sizing. You didn't mention what the original sizing agent is which gets remove. Is it also methyl cellulose? Is it a layer, like inks and gloss, added during comic production, or is it just a natural type of cellulose in paper/wood pulp?
Great questions Jason! I’m actually not sure what the original sizing was that was used on comic book paper. But I do know it’s internal sizing, a compound added to the pulp during the paper manufacturing.
I enjoy your highly informative videos and will soon imploy your techniques into some of my valued silver age comics. I do have one question. How do you know when to apply the resizing step and when not to? I sure appreciate it. Keep up sharing the good knowledge 👌
Typically you’ll know you need to resize paper because it will feel floppy; not as stiff as normal. Ordinarily you won’t have to do it, even after an aqueous deacidification bath. 👍🏽
Lovin’ your videos……keep ‘em coming👍
Awesome Video!
When you say: "put your calcium hydroxide in a container", how much (more or less), say in teaspoons amounts if possible. I'm trying to figure this out, I ask a lot of questions but that's because in my country they never gave me chemistry class. Yes that cheap was "education" there. So all this is new to me and I want to get as close to perfection as possible to make this work.
He didn't answer your question. I had the same question. Did you try any different mixtures of Ca/H20?
another youtuber used this : 2 grams of Calcium Hydroxide (about a 1/4 tsp)
1 liter of water
.5% by volume Triton-X (about 6-10 drops) I don't know if that's the formula but i'm giving it a try
@@TheWarningBand I haven't tried yet, just doing notes to follow when it comes the time to hands on. In my notes I have 1/2 teaspoon per liter of water.
@@JoeyRam. @TheWarningBand sorry guys i did respond, but changed my email address associated with the channel and youtube erased all of my comments. The max solubility of Ca(OH) in water is about 1.6 g/L, so i try to put about 2 grams in because we want it saturated. If you don't have a scale, that is about 1/4 teaspoon. But the whole point of using the saturated solution is you don't have to be exact--as long as there is a cloudy white powder on the bottom of the container, you know the solution is saturated!
❤
No way in a million years would I have figured out how to make the methyl cellulose solution, do you or can you make a large batch so you have a ready supply on hand? will it hold up over time?
It holds up just fine as long as you store it in an air-tight container. It reacts with CO2 in air to form Calcium Carbonate, which is not a big deal but doesn't work quite as well as the Ca(OH) for our purposes. Let us know how it works out!
Is this the same mixture/ratio of Methyl Cellulose and water that we should use to make glue to patch small cover tears with tengu paper (as you did in The Flash video #3)? It seems like it would just be easier to use wheat paste, no? (Your tutorials are invaluable. Thank you).
Thank you for the kind words! Glad you are enjoying the content. We use a different concentration of methyl cellulose when we use it as an adhesive. I purchase the Lineco methyl cellulose you can find on my Amazon Influencer page in the video description, and I mix it per the manufacturer’s instructions. It will have a gel consistency at the correct concentration for using it as an adhesive. 👍🏽
@@DrPaulKosnik Hey Doc! One last question regarding wet-cleaning. When it comes to wrap rinsing, you maintain (in multiple videos) to use 100 mil of (Saturated) Calcium Hydroxide (per wrap) or 150 mil of (Saturated) Calcium Hydroxide for multiple (2) wraps. Unless I missed it (and it's possible I did), what water ratio vs. Hydroxide did you use for the finished solution? Meaning, how much water did you use in your bottle (30 oz.??) and ow much Hydroxide (half a cup?). (I hope I don't sound too idiotic. I'm new to conservation, and an imbecile when it comes to math and chemistry). And again, since I haven't been able to watch everything on your channel, it's possible I missed this. I just want to make sure I have the right saturation.
The Methylcellulose mix is good to know. Can a mixture be made for a later use or will it expire? Thank you for the tips
@@DrPaulKosnik good to know thank you. Much appreciated
What is the white capsule you add in the mixture at 14:05 while mixing methyl cellulose?
Can the calcium hydroxide concentrate solution be stored is something plastic like a gallon jug?
@DrPaulKosnik Great Video Dr. Paul! I've been having tremendous success with cleaning covers using your processes. However, I do see vertical comic shrinking occasionally. Where I'm I going wrong? Drying Process? Resizing Process with Methylcellulose(Does that just add bulk to the cover paper, not actually having an impact on cover dimensions or will it resize the dimensions of the book)? Or is something else completely shrinking the cover vertically ? Stumped over here...Any insight would be greatly appreciated. You are truly an assets to the Community! Thanks in Advance, Jason!
Jason, thank you for the kind words and hang in there! My experience is that drying is when the shrinkage happens, and there are some things you can do to minimize or eliminate it. Conventional wisdom is that when Golden Age comic book covers are subjected to aqueous bath, the cover usually expands from side to side and contracts from top to bottom, owing to the direction of the paper fibers, and that silver age comic books tend to behave by shrinking and expanding in the opposite directions.
I looked at this extensively in several of the videos in this video series, and concluded that by controlling how you dry the page, you can essentially eliminate any shrinkage. Have a look and give it a try and let us know your results!
ruclips.net/p/PLnTTMDh2v7WE2DtMH6lkycyctOT-ZDZvT
@DrPaulKosnik, so about the resizing.....is that in regards to allowing a comicd to dry after it's been soaked in such a way that it won't shrink? How exactly do I dry covers and pages without having them shrink? I cleaned the cover of Astonishing Tales 169, got all the stains out, but it shrank by like 2 mm after drying.
@@DrPaulKosnik ok, thx for clearing that up, so what do you do to keep your paper from shrinking after you soak it?
I didn't get to my resizing bath for a few days after I mixed the 1% methly. The 1% solution I mixed now has a clear gel looking compound at the bottom of the container. Can thos still be used, or should I discard it?
Sounds like your MC came out of solution for some reason. I would not risk it.
I finally bought some Ca(OH)2 powder, but it turns out to be very low grade. It's grey instead of white like yours. I'm trying to use it anyways since most of the dark particulates sink to the bottom. However, there are still some particles floating at the top. Have you ever dealt with low grade Ca(OH)_2? Will it add black specks to my comics or have some other bad influence? Thanks again!
Sorry to hear that Jason-I would not use it! Laboratory grade is not very expensive, and mineral stains are very difficult to remove from paper. When you make the saturated solution, the part you pour off the top to use in your aqueous bath should be 100% clear-indistinguishable by eye from water.
I have well water on a water softener system will that hurt the comic?
Nope. You are good to go. You have the best water for paper conservation. 👍🏽
@@DrPaulKosnik thanks a lot!!!!! Love your videos!!!
Biggest takeaway: a tad is an actual measurement!😅
It is hard to dissolve that methyl cellulose in 100 mL of hot water! Why not start with 400 mL of water instead of adding it in later? Surely it is easier to get the powder to dissolve into 400 mL than 100 mL.
Counterintuitively it actually isn’t easier to dissolve in the larger volume JC! I’ve tried it many different ways and this is the best method I’ve found but if you find an easier one please let us know. 👍🏽
@@DrPaulKosnik I have to admit, it did seem easier to dissolve in the powder as the concentration increased. Counterintuitive indeed. Maybe it has to do with the change in properties like viscosity or surface tension as the solution thickens.
@@jcp4162 Wikipedia of all places has an excellent description of why this is the best way to create a methyl cellulose solution. Read the “Solubility and temperature” section if you are interested in the chemistry of why this is so.