Clean and Pressing - General question 1 1

[marf]

In general, will a clean in press have more benefit for a grade(s) bump in a higher grade book versus a lower grade book? Or does it depend on specific defects and if so which defects are bad candidates for a clean and press.

I'll assume a brittle book is a bad candidate for a clean and press.

Thanks!

[theCapraAegagrus]

On 7/27/2023 at 12:23 PM, marf said:

In general, will a clean in press have more benefit for a grade(s) bump in a higher grade book versus a lower grade book? Or does it depend on specific defects and if so which defects are bad candidates for a clean and press.

I'll assume a brittle book is a bad candidate for a clean and press.

Thanks!

There are so many factors that I don't think generalities would be useful HG vs LG.

Yes, brittle books are bad candidates for pressing/cleaning.

[redgar-red]

I press books -- mostly for myself, but have pressed for others.

A lot of collectors hand me a very nice modern book and want it pressed -- they are shocked if the book does not come back as 9.8. Or someone hands me a book and says, "This is a 9.2.  You should be able to get it to a 9.6".  Really?!  Grading is subjective.

However, take a silver or copper age book that has been in a box for years -- give it a nice press and they have tears of joy --> taking a 5.5 to 7.5 is significantly easier (and more gratifying) then taking a 9.0 and making it a 9.4.

As odd as this sounds -- pressed books always look better.  They might has so many unpressable errors that the grade will not bump, but they will look better pressed.