gadzukes Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) This is kind of a "what would you do?" question. I bought a "lot" of early (foreign) Thor comics. They are actually in great shape (some are amazing), except for a major flaw.... rusty staples. I would dare say some of these old comics would grade in the 9.0s if not for the staples. On some, the staples got so rusty that they fell out. I'd say 20 of the comics don't even have staples. But... they have the brown "rust migration" into the paper (some slightly, some more severe). I feel like I should remove all of the rusty staples to stop degradation of paper. But I also feel like I want ALL of the comics to be stapled. I was thinking of replacing all of the rusty staples with Silverage staples, and in some cases reinforcing any weak paper around the staples with a tiny sliver of archival tape. Am I over thinking this? Should I just leave everything alone (not sure if my OCDs can handle it if I do). If I replaced staples and had CGC grade them they would get conserved labels right? The picture shown is for JIM 84. The rust isn't as bad on this one and I might leave it alone. Edited February 25, 2022 by gadzukes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lions Den Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Randall Dowling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTheDuck Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 At the risk of being banned as a heretic, I'd support your having the staples all removed and replaced with period-accurate ones where possible. Not sure about the archival tape, but I get some of them might need that to hold together. I only have a couple of books that have been ruined by rusty staples, and I just think it's sad. Aside from the rust + migration, like yours they look pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvelmaniac Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Where are the books currently being stored? If they are being stored in a humid area the rust will continue to migrate. https://www.google.com/search?q=what+to+do+with+comic+book+rusty+staples&rlz=1C1UEAD_enUS950US950&oq=what+to+do+with+comic+book+rusty+staples&aqs=chrome..69i57.16506j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_sWAaYv_dOuWpptQPk7iXoAg29 gadzukes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted February 27, 2022 Author Share Posted February 27, 2022 (edited) I have some beater comics from the late 60s that I can use staples from. Edited July 2, 2022 by gadzukes divad, KCOComics and Turnando 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divad Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Rust NEVER sleeps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCOComics Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 It looks great. I don't see any problem with replacing staples that would ultimately ruin the book. gadzukes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCapraAegagrus Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Yeah, I would replace them, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninanina Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 I purchased an Atom 2 about 15 - 20 years ago and it had rusted staples. Cover was attached. After storing it for all those years and doing nothing, now...the cover is separated from the rest of the book. I'm thinking that rust will eat away at the paper and do the same thing. gadzukes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Sometimes old staples will clean up OK. I took some out of a book and cleaned them with steel wool, then gave them a coat of clear acrylic (actually Future floor polish) and put them back in. But if they are too rusty there might not be enough good metal under the rust to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTheDuck Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 (edited) On 3/2/2022 at 6:13 PM, AJD said: Sometimes old staples will clean up OK. I took some out of a book and cleaned them with steel wool, then gave them a coat of clear acrylic (actually Future floor polish) and put them back in. But if they are too rusty there might not be enough good metal under the rust to do that. Could you describe how you got the staples out? It seems daunting to me to reach into the centerfold to prise them loose. Edited March 3, 2022 by MattTheDuck djzombi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 On 3/3/2022 at 2:38 PM, MattTheDuck said: Could you describe how you got the staples out? It seems daunting to me to reach into the centerfold to prise them loose. Remind me on the weekend and I'll do an end to end photo set of doing a staple clean. I have a book that needs it. MattTheDuck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadzukes Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 On 3/2/2022 at 9:13 PM, AJD said: Sometimes old staples will clean up OK. I took some out of a book and cleaned them with steel wool, then gave them a coat of clear acrylic (actually Future floor polish) and put them back in. But if they are too rusty there might not be enough good metal under the rust to do that. The problem with prying up the tines on a "rusty staple" is that the tine is weak and usually snaps off. Sometimes it works though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJD Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 On 3/4/2022 at 3:07 AM, gadzukes said: The problem with prying up the tines on a "rusty staple" is that the tine is weak and usually snaps off. Sometimes it works though. If it's that badly rusted it was probably not going back in anyway, because it wouldn't be possible to clean it if the rust goes in too deeply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
