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Acid Odor?

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Received my copy of the Overstreet Grading Guide today and got a question. What's acid odor? Is this the smell that old newsprint gives off or something else entirely? Couldn't find the definition in the guide and I'm sure someone around these parts has the answer. Thanks!

 

 

Jim

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Received my copy of the Overstreet Grading Guide today and got a question. What's acid odor?

 

Acid odor is the smell of vinegar. It is acetic acid that gives the book this smell and it is an indicator that the book is acidic (not a good thang).

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Is it strong? I've smelled old newsprint on some old comics but not something like what you're talking about.

 

It can be mild or quite strong. But the key is "vinegar" (pickle is another way of saying vinegar because vinegar is used in the pickling solution). If you ever smelled glacial acetic acid, it has almost the same impact on your sinuses as ammonia. Very nasty stuff. In dilute form it is used in b&w photography as the stop bath.

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Is there a way of gettin rid of it. I have some VF- to VF early X-men that kinda smell that way when I take them out of the bag. Anything I can do?

 

Well, a lot of the older books are gonna start developing that acid smell. There are basically two ways to go: have them deacidified or insure they are properly stored.

 

You CAN minimize future acid decay by storing in a cool, dark dry environment (the usual) with an alkaline buffered backing board that will absorb airborn acids. I feel this is superior to deacidificaiton (usual methods are magnesium bicarbonate or calcium bicarbonate solutions, magnesium oxide powder sprays and others). The acidic process is accerated by improper storage conditions. Proper storage will definitely slow the process without applying foreign substances to the books.

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Im in F'ing Michigan where its 5 degrees out and my closet seems to be VERY cold(about 50 degrees because there is no vent in there). Is this a safe temp to store my books? Its cold and dry and I know how to store them ,but I was just curious on how the low temp would affect them?

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Its cold and dry and I know how to store them ,but I was just curious on how the low temp would affect them?

 

Low temperatire is a good thing. However, fluctuaitng temperature is a bad thing. So if you have years of 50's folowed by 70's/80's or worse, there will be an impact. When I was in Boston I took pains to keep the room my books were stored in at an even temperature year-round.

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Its always cool in there, even in the summer. It never reaches any higher then 70 degrees. Do you think I should take them out of there? There never seems to be a drastic temp change.

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Its always cool in there, even in the summer. It never reaches any higher then 70 degrees. Do you think I should take them out of there? There never seems to be a drastic temp change.

 

If it is as you describe, unless you can find a better environment, I say keep them there. That "never reaches higher than 70" sounds mighty good to me! smile.gif

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One tip on storage - keep your books in an interior room or closet with no exterior walls (walls that are exposed to the outside). This will help regulate the temperature, as well as the humidity.

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Just thought I might add something to this discussion. While browsing through the OS Grading Guide tonight, I noticed that Acid Odor is NOT allowed in Fine 6.0 grade. According to the OS Grading Guide, only the beginning of Acid Odor is allowed in VG/F 5.0 grade. Damn, I would be upset IF I had otherwise NM books that smelled like Vinegar!!

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Damn, I would be upset IF I had otherwise NM books that smelled like Vinegar!!

 

WHich is one reason why, as I mentioned in a previous post a long time ago on a board far far away...that literally the first thing I do is smell a comic. Open that rascal up and put my nose to it.

 

But NOT because any grading guide tells me. Because a strong acid smell is the smell of doom.

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literally the first thing I do is smell a comic. Open that rascal up and put my nose to it.

 

 

Good call, the severity of Acid Oder should be enough reason to convert every collector that cares about preservation to become a comic sniffer! blush.gifsmile.gif

 

You don't grade comics when you have a stuffy nose do you? grin.gif

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