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How often should you re-slab?

Started by The Black Hand ®,

24 posts in this topic

The Black Hand ®

The Black Hand ®

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How long does a slab last, as far as protecting the comic books inside? How much time should pass before you re-slab? How well does a slab protect a comic from heat, light and humidity? Most of the slabs I see for sale on ebay have a disclaimer that mentions "No returns on CGC'd books", but what if someone kept his slab in an attic for five years and it fried inside the slab, but the grade on the label remained the same? Any thought on this?

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comix4fun

comix4fun

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I had been told every 7 years as well, but after talking to Steve he mentions that as his daughter approaches college age he suggests reslabbing every 7 weeks (thumbs u

 

C

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Flaming_Telepath

Flaming_Telepath

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The only time frame we've been given is that the micro-chamber paper should be changed every seven years. No indications on the durability of anything else.

 

Which, I would imagine, should be a bit of a concern if you have tens of thousands of dollars sitting inside a lump of plastic. (shrug)

 

Another thing that's a slighty worry is that some folk think these things are indestructable...I've heard claims that they are 'water-proof'...and might well treat them as such. :(

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Ze-man

Ze-man

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I had been told every 7 years as well, but after talking to Steve he mentions that as his daughter approaches college age he suggests reslabbing every 7 weeks (thumbs u

 

C

 

I think the need to swap out micro paper depends on the book inside the slab.

 

Obviously GA books might benefit more then a BA, CA book from an off-gassing standpoint. But I have yet to pull out a piece of micro paper and felt like it was actually damaging the book because it had absorbed too much and needed changing. Or have others actually taken out smelly, micro paper gone bad that really did need changing? (shrug) I honestly dont know.

 

I have often wondered if a number was just thrown around to suggest when books should be swapped out, 5 years was too few, 10 was too many. 7 ..? That sounds ok.

 

7 it is.

 

(:

 

:kidaround:

 

As far as light, heat , humidity.. I would treat your slabbed comics like any other comic.. keep it away from all those things as much as possible no matter what it is stored in. And as always, buy the book you see not the label.

 

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The Black Hand ®

The Black Hand ®

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The micro-chamber paper may last longer than 7 years. IIRC, Steve said that CGC only tested it up to 7 years.

 

I would hope that the MC paper is acid free and won't harm the comic after 7 years, but just decrease in effectiveness. Unless there is something I'm not aware of and CGC is putting paper in your comics that will self destruct after 7 years.

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kc120us

kc120us

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You should store a slabbed comic like any other book you might have in mylar. Cool, dry and dark. Slabbed books are not impervious to outside elements. As far as a slabbed book being stored in an attic for five years, any such book will show the same amount of damage had they been stored in mylar and they would look vastly worse than the grade would suggest.

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The Black Hand ®

The Black Hand ®

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You should store a slabbed comic like any other book you might have in mylar. Cool, dry and dark. Slabbed books are not impervious to outside elements. As far as a slabbed book being stored in an attic for five years, any such book will show the same amount of damage had they been stored in mylar and they would look vastly worse than the grade would suggest.

 

I'm wondering if the negative effects of an attic would be intensified because of the unique, tomblike nature of the slab. Also bringing with it a condensation effect inside the slab.

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tth2

tth2

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You should store a slabbed comic like any other book you might have in mylar. Cool, dry and dark. Slabbed books are not impervious to outside elements. As far as a slabbed book being stored in an attic for five years, any such book will show the same amount of damage had they been stored in mylar and they would look vastly worse than the grade would suggest.

 

I'm wondering if the negative effects of an attic would be intensified because of the unique, tomblike nature of the slab. Also bringing with it a condensation effect inside the slab.

Maybe, who knows. Why don't you slab a brand new comic, and store it slabbed alongside a raw copy of the same comic in your attic and report back to us after a couple of years?

 

As far as I'm concerned, if you put your comics, whether raw or slabbed, in an unairconditioned attic, then you deserve whatever happens to them. Putting a book in a slab doesn't mean that you should immediately suspend all normal rules for storage of comics nor does it mean that you should suspend all common sense.

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The Black Hand ®

The Black Hand ®

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You should store a slabbed comic like any other book you might have in mylar. Cool, dry and dark. Slabbed books are not impervious to outside elements. As far as a slabbed book being stored in an attic for five years, any such book will show the same amount of damage had they been stored in mylar and they would look vastly worse than the grade would suggest.

 

I'm wondering if the negative effects of an attic would be intensified because of the unique, tomblike nature of the slab. Also bringing with it a condensation effect inside the slab.

Maybe, who knows. Why don't you slab a brand new comic, and store it slabbed alongside a raw copy of the same comic in your attic and report back to us after a couple of years?

 

As far as I'm concerned, if you put your comics, whether raw or slabbed, in an unairconditioned attic, then you deserve whatever happens to them. Putting a book in a slab doesn't mean that you should immediately suspend all normal rules for storage of comics nor does it mean that you should suspend all common sense.

 

The attic question is just to determine whether a slab will intensify whatever negative effect occurs to a comic, be it stored in a closet, or a basement, a van on it's way to a show or under the lights of a stadium. It wasn't inteneded to place a burr under your saddle.

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