Can somebody please explain how Wonder Bread can clean dirty comics?

[Inhuman Fiend]

I seen several references made regarding Wonder Bread and its apparent ability to remove dirt from comics. I'm very curious because I've never seen any details on the procedure. Does it really work...and exactly how do you do it? I've got a couple of candidates I'd like to clean up and would love to give it a try. And BTW...does Wonder Bread Cleaning count as restoration, and must it be disclosed?

[Stronguy]

Go do a search about a year back in the Restoration section. There was lots of talk about it.

 

Basically you remove the crust and then firmly press the bread on dirty spots of the book. The bread will pick up the dirt. It's kind of like using a piece tape to remove hair from clothing... except bread is not tape and dirt is not hair.

[Mr. Zipper]

Basically the highly refined bread acts as a very gentle sponge. I also suspect that the very light amount of oil in it acts as a mild cleaner/solvent.

 

That said, my advice is - DON'T DO IT.

 

First, the results aren't that good.

 

Second, it is very easy to damage a comic. I know because I experimented and took a corner chip off of a valuable comic... and I was working very gently.

 

It's not worth the risk.

[Inhuman Fiend]

Thanks guys!

[october]

I have used it, and it does indeed work, though not as well as a soft white art eraser. You just take the bread, without the crusts, and rub it gently on the comic so that it crumbles. Generally the dirt will go with it. PM me if you have more questions, as I have used art erasers a few times as well...

[ComicSupply]

There was a product we test marked that was like a puddy that worked very well. It works much much better than any bread. I think it was around $20 for about 10 ounces of it. I could see if I might be able to give you some information on ordering.

[FFB]

There was a product we test marked that was like a puddy that worked very well. It works much much better than any bread. I think it was around $20 for about 10 ounces of it. I could see if I might be able to give you some information on ordering.

 

Is this what you are talking about? Absorene book and paper cleaner.

 

BTW, to use Wonder Bread to clean a book, you have to wad the bread into a tight ball and then use it like you would a kneaded eraser. It is not as effective or as precise as using light strokes with a soft white art eraser.

 

I posted this general article on dry cleaning paper a while ago, but here it is again -- Effects of Eraser Treatment on Paper

[Mr. Zipper]

I posted this general article on dry cleaning paper a while ago, but here it is again -- Effects of Eraser Treatment on Paper

 

Here are the key conclusions from the article. I bolded some alarming findings. Very interesting...

 

• Treatments using all eraser samples left detectable amounts of eraser material in the paper. Photomicrographs showed that attempts at complete removal of eraser crumbs by brushing were unsuccessful.
   
  
• The Magic Rub eraser was the least altering to the paper, and the eraser itself was the most stable to aging. Papers treated with the Magic Rub eraser suffered negligible abrasion and color change, and had no change in either surface pH or wetting ability.
   
  
• The Opaline Pad was even less abrasive to treated paper samples than the Magic Rub eraser. Slight warming of the color of the paper surface after treatment and aging was noted and is probably due to the color change in the eraser crumbs. The surface pH of the paper increased after treatment.
   
  
• The Kneaded Rubber eraser was judged abrasive as used. It adversely decreased the wettability of the paper after treatment. The eraser changed dimension upon aging. The crumbs were particularly difficult to remove, as they were small, not visible to the naked eye, and clung to the paper fibers.
   
  
• The Pink Pearl eraser was judged the worst eraser because it readily abraded the paper surface and required working over the paper excessively to remove visible crumbs. The abrasion and pink particulate matter altered surface color and texture of the paper. Paper wettability decreased after treatment.
  

[Inhuman Fiend]

Cool! You guys are awesome...thanks for the help!

[october]

Here are the key conclusions from the article. I bolded some alarming findings. Very interesting...

 

They certainly are findings, but I would hardly call them alarming. If I need a microscope to see something on a comic, there is about a 100% chance that I don't give a damn about it. Seriously people, there is anal and there is anal. I am not losing sleep over that fact that one of my comics might have been *gasp* pressed and lost some paper fiber tensile stength or that there are micro abrasions on a book I took an art eraser too. Maybe I should use a scanning electron microscope to see if there are any amoebas on them? Better yet, I should just vacumn seal them and suspend them in a magnetic field to avoid the harmful effects of gravity and cosmic rays.

 

[FFB]

[Sharkey]

 

They certainly are findings, but I would hardly call them alarming. If I need a microscope to see something on a comic, there is about a 100% chance that I don't give a damn about it. Seriously people, there is anal and there is anal. I am not losing sleep over that fact that one of my comics might have been *gasp* pressed and lost some paper fiber tensile stength or that there are micro abrasions on a book I took an art eraser too. :

 

 

I agree with your sentiments, October.

 

However, I always thought people were concerned about the microscopic abrasions and the eraser residue being tell tale signs of amateur restoration should they choose to get the books slabbed. After all, the books ARE looked at under a microscope, right?

 

So to reiterate one of the original questions, Would erasure shavings/residue (or Wonder Bread residue) get a PLOD (soon to be the APPARENT BLOD)?

[Inhuman Fiend]

October...

 

Right there with ya...

[october]

So to reiterate one of the original questions, Would erasure shavings/residue (or Wonder Bread residue) get a PLOD (soon to be the APPARENT BLOD)?

 

Nope, I know CGC doesn't consider dry cleaning restoration. If the book was damaged, they would dedeuct for that.

[FFB]

 

They certainly are findings, but I would hardly call them alarming. If I need a microscope to see something on a comic, there is about a 100% chance that I don't give a damn about it. Seriously people, there is anal and there is anal. I am not losing sleep over that fact that one of my comics might have been *gasp* pressed and lost some paper fiber tensile stength or that there are micro abrasions on a book I took an art eraser too. :

 

 

I agree with your sentiments, October.

 

However, I always thought people were concerned about the microscopic abrasions and the eraser residue being tell tale signs of amateur restoration should they choose to get the books slabbed. After all, the books ARE looked at under a microscope, right?

 

So to reiterate one of the original questions, Would erasure shavings/residue (or Wonder Bread residue) get a PLOD (soon to be the APPARENT BLOD)?

 

No, because CGC does not consider dry cleaning to be restoration.

[FFB]

So to reiterate one of the original questions, Would erasure shavings/residue (or Wonder Bread residue) get a PLOD (soon to be the APPARENT BLOD)?

 

Nope, I know CGC doesn't consider dry cleaning restoration. If the book was damaged, they would dedeuct for that.

 

 

Now it's my turn to feel the frustration that you once felt when you were slower on the trigger than I!

[october]

So to reiterate one of the original questions, Would erasure shavings/residue (or Wonder Bread residue) get a PLOD (soon to be the APPARENT BLOD)?

 

Nope, I know CGC doesn't consider dry cleaning restoration. If the book was damaged, they would dedeuct for that.

 

 

Now it's my turn to feel the frustration that you once felt when you were slower on the trigger than I!

 

My day has come!

[Mr. Zipper]

Here are the key conclusions from the article. I bolded some alarming findings. Very interesting...

 

They certainly are findings, but I would hardly call them alarming...

 

Seriously people, there is anal and there is anal...

 

You're dissecting my post based on the selection of ONE word (alarming), and you're calling ME anal?!? Sheesh...

 

Okay, replace "alarming" with "eye-opening." Is that better, boss?

 

BTW, the most interesting aspect to me was not the residue, but rather the fact that one eraser raised the pH level of the paper.

[Inhuman Fiend]

Well, I was curious as to what a regular white Magic Eraser would do so I practiced on a Fine-ish book I had which had a decent amount of soiling/ink transfer and some residue from an old price sticker. The good news...it worked great on the soiling/ink transfer. The bad news...the sticker residue was stubborn and all of a sudden I went right through the paper and made a little hole!

So Zipper, I was being super careful and still made the same dumb mistake you did...but luckily it was only an ASM 119 and not an Avengers 4!

So my experiment tells me the eraser is just fine for regular dirt/ink transfer but NOT for sticky stuff or stains!

[Jayman]

For sticker residue gently use a rubber cement pickup. If it does not lift the residue off the book, keep gently rolling the residue (using the pickup) towards the closest edge of the book where you can grab it with your fingers and pull it off. The rubber cement pickup can be found in most art supply stores.