Silver Surfer 3 graded resto with Glue on Cover 2 2

[Zegeroth]

I just got this book and was looking at doing some restoration removal.  Taking a look at the restoration, it looks like it was presses such that the spine glue actually sealed a spine split.  Is this really restoration?  If so, is removing it just heating it up to open up the spine split?

[Zegeroth]

Went ahead and broke this out.  I find the the split is not actually sealed and it does appear to be glue from the spine, not added glue.

My opinion is that there is no restoration here.

[Vixom]

7 hours ago, Zegeroth said:

If so, is removing it just heating it up to open up the spine split?

No.

[Jeffro.]

On 6/12/2021 at 10:48 PM, Zegeroth said:

Went ahead and broke this out.  I find the the split is not actually sealed and it does appear to be glue from the spine, not added glue.

My opinion is that there is no restoration here.

I don't know. Based on the close up pics of the spine it looks like glue bled through and is visible on the spine. That might indicate too much post production glue being added to the book in an attempt to reattach the cover. It's a guess of course. I have no idea if pressing could cause this effect. 

Edited June 14, 2021 by Jeffro.

[theCapraAegagrus]

[B2D327]

Looks like the splash page is also detached from the spine in that photo. The stain from the glue seems to end precisely where the split ends too which cgc probably wouldn’t look at as coincidence. If it were from manufacturing I would think it would be evident further up the book or at the bottom of the book/spine and pages

[Zegeroth]

10 hours ago, B2D327 said:

Looks like the splash page is also detached from the spine in that photo. The stain from the glue seems to end precisely where the split ends too which cgc probably wouldn’t look at as coincidence. If it were from manufacturing I would think it would be evident further up the book or at the bottom of the book/spine and pages

I think you have the thought process of CGC right on the glue stopping further spliting.
 

This book was pressed too hot and the glue melted on the bottom quarter of the spine.  It probably melted all over, but there was more pressure on the bottom for whatever reason.  You can see the spine in crushed a bit as well.  
 

When the glue melted in the lower part the slash pages pulled out a bit, but then sealed back as the glue cooled.  The glue bleed through the spine paper in some areas.  Maybe there was a split already started, or it happen after, but the bottom split stops right at the U and there is no tear above that.  The glue seep between the U and O stops further tearing and CGC did not like that.

 However, I see no proof that anything has been added or removed from this book.  I see no proof of mal intent.  I see a poor press job that just so happened to soak the spine such that it would stop further spine splitting.  That’s not restoration to me, that’s sheer luck. Maybe CGC is forced to do this to stop people from melting spines to stop further splitting, but that seems really over the top to me.  Any good collector is just going to care very carefully for the split and not let it get worse.

I feel fine removing this book from the case as it was not restored.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Zegeroth

[Zegeroth]

19 hours ago, Jeffro. said:

I don't know. Based on the close up pics of the spine it looks like glue bled through and is visible on the spine. That might indicate too much post production glue being added to the book in an attempt to reattach the cover. It's a guess of course. I have no idea if pressing could cause this effect. 

The cover is clearly not detached and never was.  Here are some more pictures for anyone that cares:

[William-James88]

On 6/12/2021 at 10:48 PM, Zegeroth said:

Went ahead and broke this out.  I find the the split is not actually sealed and it does appear to be glue from the spine, not added glue.

My opinion is that there is no restoration here.

Looks like added glue to me. If you want to make sure, send to a restoration expert. 

Till then, if ever you sell this book raw, you should indicate that CGC deemed it restored.

[Zegeroth]

On 6/15/2021 at 5:39 PM, William-James88 said:

Looks like added glue to me. If you want to make sure, send to a restoration expert. 

Till then, if ever you sell this book raw, you should indicate that CGC deemed it restored.

No, I won’t be adding what if the moon falls language to my sales.  There is absolutely no reason to add glue to this book outside of 2 x 1/2” spine splits (which both have no glue them at all).  Why didn’t they add it to the top spine split?  
 

The guilty without good proof is not going to fly with me.

[Jeffro.]

2 hours ago, Zegeroth said:

There is absolutely no reason to add glue to this book outside of 2 x 1/2” spine splits (which both have no glue them at all).  Why didn’t they add it to the top spine split?

There was absolutely no reason for people to put tape on the entire spine of a comic but they still did it in the past.

You seem so sure that you're right. What if you aren't?

 

Edited June 19, 2021 by Jeffro.

[William-James88]

6 hours ago, Zegeroth said:

No, I won’t be adding what if the moon falls language to my sales.  There is absolutely no reason to add glue to this book outside of 2 x 1/2” spine splits (which both have no glue them at all).  Why didn’t they add it to the top spine split?  
 

The guilty without good proof is not going to fly with me.

Wow, removing books from purple slabs and selling them as unrestored is a deplorable tactic. 

The whole point of CGC is to have an extra guarantee if their graders noticed restoration and you are choosing not only to ignore them but also omit that info to potential buyers.

Edited June 19, 2021 by William-James88

[Zegeroth]

19 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

Wow, removing books from purple slabs and selling them as unrestored is a deplorable tactic. 

The whole point of CGC is to have an extra guarantee if their graders noticed restoration and you are choosing not only to ignore them but also omit that info to potential buyers.

I am not sure exactly what I will do with this book.  In the short and medium term I want it for the collection.  I was hoping to try some restoration removal in this, but there’s nothing to remove.  I believe it’s not restored as I’ve explained in this thread.  I may confirm that with some experts.  I may resubmit it to CGC.  I don’t know.  I do believe CGC misgrades books, and apparently they mark some as restored that are not.  I’m sure they miss actual restoration as well.

 

 

[joeypost]

Unless you are positive it was pressed (I see too many issues with the book to indicate that it was pressed correctly) Someone could have tacked that portion of the spine to seal the split. Just too much bleed through to make me think it was done with a straight press. 

[thehumantorch]

16 hours ago, Zegeroth said:

No, I won’t be adding what if the moon falls language to my sales.  There is absolutely no reason to add glue to this book outside of 2 x 1/2” spine splits (which both have no glue them at all).  Why didn’t they add it to the top spine split?  
 

The guilty without good proof is not going to fly with me.

Looks like the spine was glued to me.  You could send it to experts to check for restoration but that was already done and they deemed it restored.

What’s your eBay handle?

 

Edited June 19, 2021 by thehumantorch

[The Lions Den]

5 hours ago, joeypost said:

Unless you are positive it was pressed (I see too many issues with the book to indicate that it was pressed correctly) Someone could have tacked that portion of the spine to seal the split. Just too much bleed through to make me think it was done with a straight press. 

I agree 100%. 

Spine splits on early Surfer square-bounds are very common. I've never seen this much glue on the interior spine of a Surfer #3 before---it bears little resemblance to any glue that may have been applied during the manufacturing process. It's extremely likely this glue was added in an attempt to seal the split and/or seal the loose wrap. Bottom line, there is no way this book doesn't get flagged for amateur resto by CGC.

As far as even thinking about selling this book without revealing this problem? Poor career move, IMO...

Edited June 19, 2021 by The Lions Den

[The Lions Den]

19 hours ago, Zegeroth said:

I may confirm that with some experts.  I may resubmit it to CGC.  I don’t know.  I do believe CGC misgrades books, and apparently they mark some as restored that are not.  I’m sure they miss actual restoration as well.

With something this obvious, I'm confident the experts at CGC got it right...  

[William-James88]

12 hours ago, thehumantorch said:

Looks like the spine was glued to me.  You could send it to experts to check for restoration but that was already done and they deemed it restored.

What’s your eBay handle?

 

He's been avoiding that question twice now. And even after people who work with and for CGC have weighed in and told him it is restored, I wonder if he will stick to his own amateur analysis which no one else has sided with. 

What really sucks now is we have a restored key book that is no longer in a CGC case saying such. 

 

@Zegeroth from everything presented here in this thread, from all parties, it really seems like any further money spent on this book would result in a loss. Just keep the book and the CGC label and enjoy it as is.

Edited June 20, 2021 by William-James88

[The Lions Den]

6 hours ago, William-James88 said:

He's been avoiding that question twice now. And even after people who work with and for CGC have weighed in and told him it is restored, I wonder if he will stick to his own amateur analysis which no one else has sided with. 

What really sucks now is we have a restored key book that is no longer in a CGC case saying such. 

 

@Zegeroth from everything presented here in this thread, from all parties, it really seems like any further money spent on this book would result in a loss. Just keep the book and the CGC label and enjoy it as is.

  Good advice!  

[KCOComics]

21 hours ago, joeypost said:

Unless you are positive it was pressed (I see too many issues with the book to indicate that it was pressed correctly) Someone could have tacked that portion of the spine to seal the split. Just too much bleed through to make me think it was done with a straight press. 

 

18 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

I agree 100%. 

Spine splits on early Surfer square-bounds are very common. I've never seen this much glue on the interior spine of a Surfer #3 before---it bears little resemblance to any glue that may have been applied during the manufacturing process. It's extremely likely this glue was added in an attempt to seal the split and/or seal the loose wrap. Bottom line, there is no way this book doesn't get flagged for amateur resto by CGC.

As far as even thinking about selling this book without revealing this problem? Poor career move, IMO...

These are the two people I highly recommend you listen to.

 

Additionally I have a SS 1. I've had it since the 90s. He was my favorite character so it was one of the first books I collected as a kid. 

The top of the spine is split very similarly to yours and tacked on by glue and ugly tape... I didn't notice the glue until maybe 5 years ago. It looks very similar to yours. 

I'll see if I have pictures of it, but I know for sure the book was never pressed as I've had it. Unfortunately it's amateur resto that was fairly common on these square bound books.

If you sell it, the ethical thing to do is disclose the restoration and sell it with the label.