I need your knowledge 0

[Michaeld]

I need your knowledge

I received a piece in the mail today that was done in 1992. I can still smell the ink/marker fumes. Is that normal?

[comicwiz]

Can you be a little more specific? Are you saying you can place it down on a table, and smell it from a few feet away? From across the room? Or do you have to get close to it to smell it?

Assuming you've done everything you can to inform yourself about the seller and the pieces history to eliminate the possibility it was done more recently than 25 years ago, like any consumer made product, if you buy cheap media (markers, paint, etc.) you will have to consider proper ventilation during curing/drying. In my experience, you get what you pay for, and the cheaper off-shore sourced stuff has a much stronger odour.

I had an estate assignment with one painting which the owner was having restored. The restoration took a little longer than expected, and when I returned a second time to examine it after the restoration was finished, the entire room it was in had an obvious overpowering odour from the oils used that wasn't there when I visited the home the first time. I provided some tips on how to air it out, and it took well over two months.  I'm sure if I hadn't provided a remedy, that smell would have not only remained with the piece, but possibly cross-contaminated other pieces in the room, and very easily could heave leached into the paint and drywall.

Edited June 11, 2017 by comicwiz

[Michaeld]

I had it in my portfolio last night. This morning I opened it and the smell hit me. When I took it out and aired it out your nose needs to be about two inches away from it to smell it. It is a Hellblazer piece by Steve Dillon. You can click here to see it. Steve Dillon

Edited June 11, 2017 by Michaeld
added information

[Michaeld]

I just had my wife smell it. She has a better sense of smell than I do. She says it isn't ink. It's a musty smell like the art was kept in a damp environment. So I guess my question has changed to how do I get rid of a musty smell from my art?

[comicwiz]

With that much marker on it, and the amount of time since it was made, I don't think you can do much now as it's been absorbed by the paper. If it's of great concern to you, try to look up companies that remove smoke odour from fire damaged personal effects. I know there are companies that will treat things such as comics, and there are some newer solutions like Ozone generators that would also work on mildew, but those can be costly, and it doesn't come with any guarantee the smell won't return over time.  It might make sense to put it in a Mylar sleeve or top loader rather than take a chance with the odour (or worse, if it's mildew/mold) migrating to other pages in your portfolio.

Edited June 11, 2017 by comicwiz

[alxjhnsn]

Here's my standard restoration answer:

 

In the many threads on paper conservation, the names that recur the most were:

 

• Robert Dennis 
  • agraphicstateofmind@verizon.net
  • http://www.agraphicstateofmind.com/ 
  • http://www.agraphicstateofmind.com/comic_art_restoration_service.html 
• Gordon Christman
  • ggc2k@hotmail.com
  • Gordon doesn't seem to have a web presence, but his snail mail address and phone number are:
    • GORDON G. CHRISTMAN 
    • RESTORATION & CONSERVATION 
    • 330 SOUTH HORNE STREET #L 
    • OCEANSIDE CA 92054 
    • TEL:  760 439 7970
    • CEL:  760 458 2290

• Tracy Heft - Eclipse Paper 
  •  
  • trace@eclipsepaper.com
  • http://www.eclipsepaper.com

I would add that most major museums know of paper conservators. You might want to contact someone at a local museum and see if there is a conservator close to you.