Batman Adventures 12 and Pencil Markings (how does dry cleaning work?)

[jjfversion1]

So long story short, I picked up a fairly decent copy of Batman Adventures 12 from my local shop and noticed that the page with the word search puzzle had some words circled in pencil. There are maybe 5-6 light circles around the words in the puzzle, and I was contemplating taking a brand new white eraser to the book to try and remove them, but was afraid of damaging the book in the process.

 

Do pressing/dry cleaning services like CCS actually do a good job in removing pencil marks from the inside of books? I am sorry if this has been asked before, but I was curious if anybody has encountered this problem before and what the safest solution was to removing the pencil marks. I would hate to try and erase the markings myself and damage the book in the process. Not sure how companies like CCS dry clean the books, but according to their website, they can remove pencil marks (although they list cover markings specifically, not sure if it helps with interior pages). I thought to ask you guys for some help/advise before making a decision on how to handle this.

 

Thanks!

[divad]

I would just do it myself. It takes a steady hand, the right tools, and a practiced touch. Tourist to NY Cabbie: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" NY Cabbie:"Practice, practice, practice."

[jjfversion1]

Was leaning towards that as well.

 

I forgot to mention that the pencil marks are over white paper, so hopefully there should't be too much color loss if I decide to do it.

 

Just was curious if CCS had a magical way of removing it that I am not aware of

[PovertyRow]

Was leaning towards that as well.

 

I forgot to mention that the pencil marks are over white paper, so hopefully there should't be too much color loss if I decide to do it.

 

Just was curious if CCS had a magical way of removing it that I am not aware of

 

If they are truly light with no indents, then you can get a white eraser like a Staedtler Mars plastic eraser. You want to slice it so you can get a point out of it and use the point to only hit the pencil lines themselves.

 

Erasers CAN remove some ink so you want to be sure to only hit the pencil lines. If they go into the ink it should be no big whoop to leave them alone.

[Action252Kid]

Is this a book that you're keeping for yourself, or are you going to have it graded by CGC? I can't imagine that they would take off much (if at all) for a small puzzle filled out (maybe they'll put a note on the label if it's above a certain grade?).

 

Haven't really seen or tried removing writing from an interior before, but I HAVE seen covers that had really ugly erasure markings, with color loss and very distracting smudging, etc. -- whereas some light writing wouldn't have bothered me at all, but a giant erased-name would.

 

 

[jjfversion1]

Was leaning towards that as well.

 

I forgot to mention that the pencil marks are over white paper, so hopefully there should't be too much color loss if I decide to do it.

 

Just was curious if CCS had a magical way of removing it that I am not aware of

 

If they are truly light with no indents, then you can get a white eraser like a Staedtler Mars plastic eraser. You want to slice it so you can get a point out of it and use the point to only hit the pencil lines themselves.

 

Erasers CAN remove some ink so you want to be sure to only hit the pencil lines. If they go into the ink it should be no big whoop to leave them alone.

 

I appreciate the advice. Aren't those erasers already kind of pointy when bought brand new? Im thinking about trying this, but hoping someone with dry cleaning experience can chime in to see if I should leave this job to the professionals...

[jjfversion1]

Is this a book that you're keeping for yourself, or are you going to have it graded by CGC? I can't imagine that they would take off much (if at all) for a small puzzle filled out (maybe they'll put a note on the label if it's above a certain grade?).

 

Haven't really seen or tried removing writing from an interior before, but I HAVE seen covers that had really ugly erasure markings, with color loss and very distracting smudging, etc. -- whereas some light writing wouldn't have bothered me at all, but a giant erased-name would.

 

 

Thinking of slabbing it. Wouldn't want these pencil markings to bring down the grade significantly as everything else about the book is nice.

[PovertyRow]

Was leaning towards that as well.

 

I forgot to mention that the pencil marks are over white paper, so hopefully there should't be too much color loss if I decide to do it.

 

Just was curious if CCS had a magical way of removing it that I am not aware of

 

If they are truly light with no indents, then you can get a white eraser like a Staedtler Mars plastic eraser. You want to slice it so you can get a point out of it and use the point to only hit the pencil lines themselves.

 

Erasers CAN remove some ink so you want to be sure to only hit the pencil lines. If they go into the ink it should be no big whoop to leave them alone.

 

I appreciate the advice. Aren't those erasers already kind of pointy when bought brand new? Im thinking about trying this, but hoping someone with dry cleaning experience can chime in to see if I should leave this job to the professionals...

 

They are rectangles too broad for precise fine work. Slicing a piece off with an edge will give you control. Practice on a throwaway book. Lightly draw some pencil lines to approximate your book and practice erasing.

[jaeldubyoo]

Make sure you rub lightly. If you rub too hard you might remove some of the gloss or even damage the surface. It takes a light touch and patience.

 

Only erase in the white sections. Use some sort of shield when erasing to protect the printed and colored areas. Doesn't have to be fancy; a piece of paper will do. There are metal eraser shields available at art supply store.

[Westy Steve]

Lots of good advice about how to erase here. However, are you terribly sure that the interior writing would bring down the grade (at all)? You say "fairly decent"...that doesn't sound like a grade that would be affected. How would you grade the book without the writing?

[jjfversion1]

Lots of good advice about how to erase here. However, are you terribly sure that the interior writing would bring down the grade (at all)? You say "fairly decent"...that doesn't sound like a grade that would be affected. How would you grade the book without the writing?

 

That is a good question. Without the pencil marks, I would say anywhere between an 8.5-9.0

 

I was worried that if I got the book slabbed and left the writing in, that the book might get dropped to a 7.0-7.5 as the pencil marks are technically seen as a defect (I would think) in CGC's eyes.

[crazyhips]

My guess is that it will get hammered pretty hard for the pencil marks because it is a modern.

[AJD]

CGC will note the pencil markings. See one of my books below - the notation is 'Puzzles filled in on 16th and 17th page in pencil".

 

CGC's poor grammar aside, in that case it doesn't seem to have affected the grade much, if at all.

 

[mschmidt]

CGC will note the pencil markings. See one of my books below - the notation is 'Puzzles filled in on 16th and 17th page in pencil".

 

CGC's poor grammar aside, in that case it doesn't seem to have affected the grade much, if at all.

 

 

That's a mid-grade GA book - can't really compare it to how they would a treat a high grade modern ...

[divad]

So long story short, I picked up a fairly decent copy of Batman Adventures 12 from my local shop and noticed that the page with the word search puzzle had some words circled in pencil. There are maybe 5-6 light circles around the words in the puzzle, and I was contemplating taking a brand new white eraser to the book to try and remove them, but was afraid of damaging the book in the process.

 

Quick question - Is BA 12 newsprint? or glossy? (I can't remember).

[kav]

If erasing is considered resto I'd leave it be. You can erase grime from back covers and white areas undetectably but only areas not printed on.

Or maybe use a kneaded rubber eraser and dont rub but stick down and pull up see how that goes. Practice on a similar book-if it seems to pull up pencil w/out pulling up ink on same type paper you might give it a shot.

[joeypost]

So long story short, I picked up a fairly decent copy of Batman Adventures 12 from my local shop and noticed that the page with the word search puzzle had some words circled in pencil. There are maybe 5-6 light circles around the words in the puzzle, and I was contemplating taking a brand new white eraser to the book to try and remove them, but was afraid of damaging the book in the process.

 

Quick question - Is BA 12 newsprint? or glossy? (I can't remember).

 

It's not glossy.

[divad]

So long story short, I picked up a fairly decent copy of Batman Adventures 12 from my local shop and noticed that the page with the word search puzzle had some words circled in pencil. There are maybe 5-6 light circles around the words in the puzzle, and I was contemplating taking a brand new white eraser to the book to try and remove them, but was afraid of damaging the book in the process.

 

Quick question - Is BA 12 newsprint? or glossy? (I can't remember).

 

It's not glossy.

 

Newsprint is a breeze, just have to be careful not to tear it.