Restoration gone WILD!!!

[hammer-migration]

I thought it would be interesting if anyone had any funny stories of self inflicting damage to themself (or know of someone who did) while performing alteration/restoration on a paper collectible (comic, card, etc.). Like almost slicing a finger off while trimming edges on a comic, burning their eyes with chemicals or nearly passing out from inhaling the chemicals, etc. Anyone with any compelling tales of Restoration gone horribly wrong?

[Bronty]

Can't say I have any. My attempts with resto (this is 15 years ago and I am 12 years old, mind) ended at using erasers to clean covers. Sure, it cleaned the dirt off, but it took the cover inks off too!!

 

Do you have any to share hammer? (I'm not implying anything)

[hammer-migration]

I was thinking about the way Mark Wilson's career ended and Matt's started as restorers. In MY opinion, owning Timely's that Mark has done, his work was excellent. His best quality was that ALL of his work was excellent and he divulged all work, trying to use as minimal an approach as possible. No BAD days!!! No BAD jobs (I've got about 10 books in my Timely collection that he did the work on for the collector I bought them from). Mark started to have problems with his EYES from the chemicals he was using in his craft. He developed problems that made him fear for his eyesight eventually and brought in Matt to help when Mark needed time off (year to year and a half) to recuperate from the damaging effects of the chemicals, whose effects were cumulative over time!! Thankfully, his eyesight recovered, and over time, the stigma of his at one time having a restoration service affecting his sales and reputation (which I consider to have always been IMPECCABLE), dissipated with his spectacular inventory of raw and CGC material, now just about all CGC highest graded copy items. Mark's a tremendous success story, knows as much as anyone about comics in this hobby, and is a consummate gentleman.